Following the announcement of the GLAAD awards this week, many were perplexed over what appeared to be a snub of one of the best gay films of the year — Kirby Dick's Outrage, a documentary exposing hypocritical, closet politicians.
Blogger Mike Rogers, whose work outing said politicians is among the focuses of the film, received a statement from GLAAD about why the film wasn't included in its nominations:
The GLAAD Media Awards are about elevating and promoting the fair, accurate and inclusive stories of LGBT issues, people and allies that have increased awareness, understanding and respect for our lives and our pursuit of equality.
Outrage is a fine movie and an important one that focused attention on anti-LGBT politicians whose efforts put our community and our families in harm's way. But the GLAAD Media Awards aren't the Academy Awards, they are about highlighting media that move America by telling the stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – not those who run from who they are.
The decision to come out as LGBT is an extremely personal one that benefits the individual and the people who know them. While there is certainly an argument that is made for speculating on the sexual orientation of anti-LGBT politicians in an effort to hold them accountable for the harms they inflict on our community, that sort of speculation doesn't promote awareness, understanding and respect for our lives and thus does not fit the criteria for the GLAAD Media Awards.
Michelangelo Signorile, who has been critical of the Outrage snub on his show and on Twitter (he said that HBO did submit Outrage to GLAAD for an award), is going to have filmmaker Kirby Dick on his show at 4:30 today. No doubt he'll be asked about it.
