In New GLAAD PSA Campaign Created by Brett Ratner, Allies Come Out of the Closet for Equality: VIDEO

Back in February, GLAAD announced that Brett Ratner, who was ousted as Oscar producer last November after his Tower Heist Q&A in which he made anti-gay remarks, would be producing and directing a campaign in collaboration with the group.

Ratner called working with GLAAD "a positive and enlightening experience" in the wake of his remarks, and his PSAs have just been released. They feature a number of well-known celebs and allies "coming out of the closet" for equality.

Jackie Chan, Tamala Jones, Giada De Laurentiis, DeRay Davis, Hudson Taylor, Jaime King, Jason Alexander, Kristen Johnston, Sarah Shahi, and Pauley Perrette are featured in the first set. I've posted four of them above.

According to GLAAD, "Comcast and NBCUniversal will serve as a leading media partner for the PSA campaign, contributing $1.5 million in national airtime on its Xfinity TV cable systems and bringing this important message to more than 20 million homes over the next year."

GLAAD to Honor Bill Clinton as 'Advocate for Change'

GLAAD announced today that it is honoring former President Bill Clinton at its Los Angeles GLAAD Awards.

Deadline writes that the first "Advocate for Change" award will also be given to Hollywood attorney Steve Warren:

The event will be held at the JW Marriott on April 20 and there will be more excitement than usual in the air as this is right in the midst of Supreme Court deliberations regarding the constitutionality of Prop 8 and DOMA, which will have profound impact on gay marriage and whether equal protections extend to gays and lesbians. That landmark decision is expected to be delivered in June. Big star power is expected at the event. Among the confirmed presenters so far are Leonardo DiCaprio, Charlize Theron and Jennifer Lawrence. They are all Warren’s clients. Clinton is being honored for a long track record of pressing tolerance. I

In 2011, Clinton advocated for marriage equality in New York, stating that “for more than a century, our Statue of Liberty has welcomed all kinds of people from all over the world yearning to be free. In the 21st century, I believe New York’s welcome must include marriage equality.” In 2012, he joined the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families in working against North Carolina’s proposed Amendment One to ban marriage and civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Most recently, he called for the Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act in an op-ed for The Washington Post. During his administration, Clinton became the first U.S. President to appoint out gay and lesbian people to all levels of government. He appointed more than 150 including James Hormel as America’s first openly gay ambassador. During the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, his administration convened the first White House Conference on the epidemic, created the national AIDS Policy Coordinator post, and expanded funding for research. In 2002, his Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) began as the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative to address the HIV/AIDS crisis in the developing world.

GLAAD Alters Mission Statement to Include Transgender Focus: VIDEO

On a panel on Sunday's Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC, GLAAD's Wilson Cruz joined author and advocate Janet Mock and Mel Wymore, a community activist and Democratic candidate for New York City Council, to talk about GLAAD and an announcement made by President Herndon Graddick at the recent GLAAD awards that the organization would be altering its mission statement to add a focus on transgender defamation and equality.

"The organization has formally dropped the words 'Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation' from its name and will be known going forward as simply GLAAD, the LGBT media advocacy organization," it reports:

"It is a natural progression that reflects the work GLAAD's staff is already leading," said Cruz. "We respect and honor the full name that the organization was founded with, but GLAAD's work has expanded beyond fighting defamation to changing the culture. Our commitment to marriage equality, employment nondiscrimination, and other LGBT issues is stronger than ever, and now our name reflects our work on transgender issues as well as our work with allies."

GLAAD will continue a broad range of important media work, from holding the media accountable for coverage of LGBT issues, to elevating the important LGBT stories that make headlines and ultimately inform the conversations that are happening at dinner tables, in boardrooms, and schools around the country. GLAAD also reaffirmed its commitment to combatting the misinformation and hateful rhetoric that anti-LGBT activists like the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins put forth through the media.

Watch the Melissa Harris-Perry segment, AFTER THE JUMP...

Snooki and JWoww Will 'Kill' the Supreme Court if They Don't Strike Down Prop 8 and DOMA: VIDEO

Vanity Fair has the scoop from Saturday night's GLAAD awards:

Just days before the Supreme Court will be considering the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, both of which prohibit same-sex marriage, the Jersey Shore stars hope the justices strike down both. “They better pass it,” JWoww said. “They better. Or I’ll come for them.” Snooki concurred: “Yeah. I will find you, and I will kill you,” she said.

I don't think Sonia Sotomayor has much to worry about but Scalia might.

And if you're interested in what they had to say about Anderson Cooper and Madonna, Boy Culture got that scoop, AFTER THE JUMP...

Anderson Cooper and Madonna Get Candid Backstage at GLAAD: VIDEO

Anderson Cooper and Madonna took some candid time backstage at the GLAAD Awards after she presented him with the organization's Vito Russo Award on Saturday night.

Access Hollywood asked Madonna about where she got her outfit. She says she told them it was for her son.

Anderson talks about Madonna's longtime work as an ally, why he was so excited to receive the award from her, and why he feels it's a "blessing" to be gay.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Steubenville, Brett Ratner, Mugabe Travels, Giorgos Katidis

Oz the Great and Powerful obviously has some friends: it topped the box office for the second weekend in a row and with $142 million in domestic sales, it is now the highest grossing movie of the year so far.

Garbage survey in England asks about sexual orientation.

Teenagers Trent Mays & Ma’Lik Richmond have been found guilty of raping a 16-year old girl during a drunken party in Steubenville, Ohio. They may be incarcerated in juvenile facilities until they're 21.

Get a look at the off-stage antics at last night's GLAAD Media Awards, starring Anderson Cooper and Madonna.

A rehabilitated Brett Ratner, the director who stepped down from the 2012 Oscars and underwent sensitivity training after using the word "fag" during a Q&A in his movie Tower Heist, received the Ally Award at the same event last night. From his speech, "Homophobe. Bigot. Gay-basher. Ignorant frat boy. Fat, Jewish pig. I was called all of these names when I foolishly used a gay slur in a misguided attempt to be funny during an interview. Do I believe what I was called to be true? Aside from the Jewish and fat part? No, absolutely not. But I learned a valuable lesson: a word can matter, whether it's said with malice or a joke."

A young Ryan Gosling gives the Mickey Mouse club a tour of Canada.

Hoping to boost his campaign coffers, comedian-turned-Senator Al Franken's holding a raffle in which supporters can win brunch with Conan O'Brien at Conan's house.

Bad news for female journalists: "For the third year in the row, the number of male bylines and works by male writers reviewed vastly outnumbered those of women almost across the board, and a look at all data from all three years indicated that things haven’t improved over time (in fact, at several publications, the percentage of women represented decreased between 2011 and 2012)."

Despite being banned from traveling into the European Union, tyrannical Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe will cut through Italy on his way to the Vatican, where he'll attend Pope Francis' inauguration.

So much vitriol in 67 words: "In another case in the annals of conservative 'adaptation' to yesterday's liberal innovation, Ohio Republican senator Rob Portman has just announced that he now supports faux marriage. The change was motivated, he said, by his son having come out to him and his wife as a homosexual. Well, it's a good thing his son didn't announce that he was involved in bestiality. Talk about a pandering parent."

Meanwhile: "Greek soccer player Giorgos Katidis has been banned from his national team for life after giving a Nazi salute while celebrating a goal in the topflight league."

Oy. Panama-based Carnival Cruises enjoys a largely unregulated freedom and tax payer-backed Coast Guard rescues.

Ick. "Lawrence Reed, the man accused of killing [Marco McMillian], appears to be laying the groundwork for a so-called "gay panic" defense, and he might just get away with it, highlighting the justice system’s troubled relationship with cases in which sexual orientation is clearly a factor."

Aww. Pug pups get baths.