{"id":52976,"date":"2017-05-09T16:00:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T20:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/rosie-odonnell-surprises-southwest-of-salem-women-at-glaad-media-awards-in-nyc\/"},"modified":"2017-05-09T16:00:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T20:00:38","slug":"rosie-odonnell-surprises-southwest-of-salem-women-at-glaad-media-awards-in-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/rosie-odonnell-surprises-southwest-of-salem-women-at-glaad-media-awards-in-nyc\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosie O\u2019Donnell surprises \u2018Southwest of Salem\u2019 women at GLAAD Media Awards in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rosie O\u2019Donnell surprises \u2018Southwest of Salem\u2019 women<\/a> at GLAAD Media Awards in NYC<\/b><\/p>\n

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On Saturday, CNN anchor Don Lemon presented the\u00a0Outstanding Documentary award to\u00a0Investigation Discovery’s Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0at the 28th<\/sup>\u00a0Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City. Elizabeth Ramirez accepted the award on the documentary’s behalf, and was joined onstage by director Deborah Esquenazi, producer Sam Tabet, and the rest of the ‘San Antonio Four,’\u00a0Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera, and Anna Vasquez.\"\"<\/p>\n

Ramirez movingly expressed that the\u00a0San Antonio Four’s story is a “cautionary tale of what happens when homophobia and misogyny and the misuse of science are present in our courts.” Ramirez pointed to the documentary as a\u00a0“testament to the power of filmmaking\u00a0that shedding light on injustices can create real change.”<\/p>\n

The four also had the opportunity to celebrate their award with Rosie O’Donnell, who had presented Billy Porter with an award earlier that night. One of their biggest supporters, O’Donnell could not pass up the chance to give a\u00a0surprise backstage visit to the brave women<\/a> whose story moved the entire crowd.<\/p>\n

Southwest of Salem: The Story of San Antonio Four <\/em>tells the heart-rending story of four Latina lesbians<\/a> and their fight\u00a0for exoneration\u00a0after spending nearly 15 years in prison for wrongful conviction of sexual assault.\u00a0The documentary highlights\u00a0the homophobia\u00a0permeating both the criminal justice system and society at large, which tilted the scales against the San Antonio Four.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0In November 2016, the women<\/a> were exonerated by Texas’ highest criminal court, following the documentary’s\u00a0film festival circuit tour and\u00a0Investigation Discovery premiere — to record ratings for the network — just one month before.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles GLAAD Media Awards were held April 1 at the Beverly Hilton. The 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta Airlines, Hilton, Ketel One Vodka, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Wells Fargo.<\/p>\n

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian<\/a>, gay<\/a>, bisexual<\/a>, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and the issues that affect their lives.\u00a0 They also fund GLAAD’s work to amplify stories from the LGBTQ community that build support for equality and acceptance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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May 9, 2017<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Issues:\u00a0<\/div>\n