San Francisco, Sunday, June 3, 2012 – Dianna Agron, Rita Moreno, Kerry Washington, Adam Pally, Janet Mock, Shay Mitchell and pop music sensation fun. joined the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as it honored advocate, author and producer Shonda Rhimes, Wells Fargo, Facebook and the best in television and journalism last night at the 23^rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco, presented nationally by Ketel One and Wells Fargo, and locally by Southwest Airlines.

Video clips of the event will be posted in coming days at http://youtube.com/glaad.  For more information and photographs from the 23^rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco visit http://glaad.org/mediaawards and http://www.wireimage.com.

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives.  The GLAAD Media Awards also fund GLAAD's work to amplify stories from the LGBT community and issues that build support for equality.

Kerry Washington, Guillermo Diaz and Katie Lowes presented the Golden Gate Award to Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and ABC’s new hit series Scandal. The Golden Gate Award is presented to a media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality.

In her acceptance speech, Rhimes said, "I think that love is universal. And I think in telling LGBT stories, I'm telling everyone's story. Love is, in fact, universal, right?…I want my daughters to grow up in a world in which there is more love than hate. I want them to know a world where everyone is free. So that's why I write the stories that I do, because everyone should be free.  Love should be universal. And no one should get to tell me or you or my kid who they can love, or who they can marry or have babies with." Rhimes continued, "I want to thank GLAAD for bestowing me with this honor, and it truly feels like an honor. I'm going to do my best in the future to deserve the honor that's bestowed on me and make GLAAD proud."

Brittany McMillan, creator of Spirit Day which inspires millions to wear purple or ‘go purple’ on social media in support of LGBT youth, presented a Special Recognition Award to Facebook for the company's strong support of its LGBT users.  Spirit Day will be held on October 19, 2012. Facebook's Andrew Noyes and Sara Sperling accepted the award on behalf of Facebook.  

In a pre-recorded video, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said of the honor, “For two decades, GLAAD has recognized those who promote understanding, increase acceptance and advance equality. This is incredibly important and I couldn’t be more pleased that Facebook is among those being honored by GLAAD this year. I’m thankful that GLAAD has recognized our commitment to helping young people make safe, smart and responsible choices online and offline. We’re committed to helping people express who they really are.”

Guests enjoyed a performance by Beverly McClellan, a finalist on season one of The Voice, as well as Mystère by Cirque du Soleil.  Other special guests include: Sean Maher (Much Ado About Nothing); Ashley Benson, Ian Harding (Pretty Little Liars); Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff (fun.); Chandler Massey and Freddie Smith (Days of Our Lives); Jordon Todosey, Annie Clark, Linda Schuyler (Degrassi); Mario Lopez (Extra); MSNBC's Thomas Roberts; People.com editor Janet Mock; John Gidding (Curb Appeal: The Block); author and advocate Zach Wahls; comedians Fortune Feimster and Chris Franjola; and GLAAD President Herndon Graddick.

Following is a complete list of GLAAD Media Award recipients announced Saturday in San Francisco.

• Golden Gate Award:  Shonda Rhimes (presented by Scandal's Kerry Washington, Guillermo Diaz and Katie Lowes)

• Corporate Leader Award:  Wells Fargo (accepted by Caryl Athanasiu, Executive Vice President and Chief Operational Risk Officer, Wells Fargo)

• Special Recognition Award:  Facebook (accepted by Andrew Noyes and Sara Sperling on behalf of Facebook)

• Outstanding Drama Series: Grey's Anatomy (ABC)  [accepted by show creator Shonda Rhimes]

• Outstanding Daily Drama: Days of Our Lives (NBC)  [accepted by: Chandler Massey and Freddie Smith]

• Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: "Adam and Pete: Love in a Time of War" by Max J. Rosenthal (HuffingtonPost.com)  [accepted by: Adam Harmon and Pete Bennett]

GLAAD also announced that Las Aparicio (Mun 2) received the award for Outstanding Novela

This year, over 100 youth from the Bay Area were able to attend the event at no cost through GLAAD's Young Adults @ the GLAAD Media Awards initiative.  Young Adults @ the GLAAD Media Awards was presented in Los Angeles by Edison International. Additional support from corporate partners including Bridgestone Americas, Cirque du Soleil, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Tom Ford & Richard Buckley, Billie Jean King, Madison Square Garden–The Rockettes Company, Major League Baseball, Bishop Gene Robinson, Southern California Gas Company - A Sempra Energy utility, and Steve Tisch allowed GLAAD to make this program possible. Students affiliated with University of California Berkeley and San Francisco International High School enjoyed the show, as well as a pre-reception, advocacy fair and a private after-party.

Additional awards were presented in New York on March 24 and in Los Angeles on April 21.  A complete list of award recipients announced at the New York and Los Angeles events may be found here: http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/recipients

To receive the latest updates on the GLAAD Media Awards, follow @glaad on Twitter and use the hashtag #glaadawards.

More than 100 corporate partners are showing their support, including National Presenting More than 100 corporate partners are showing their support, including National Presenting partners Ketel One and Wells Fargo, New York Presenting partners Delta Air Lines and Prudential, Los Angeles Presenting partner Delta Air Lines, and San Francisco Presenting partner Southwest Airlines.  GLAAD is also grateful to the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards Platinum Underwriter corporate partners: Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Comcast/NBC Universal, Disney-ABCTelevision Group/ESPN, IBM, Sheppard Mullin and Time Warner, as well as Underwriter corporate partners: Allstate Insurance Company, AT&T, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, David Yurman, Food Network/Cooking Channel, The Los Angeles Lakers, New York City Marriott Marquis & Renaissance Hotel, PricewaterhouseCoopers, VPI Pet Insurance and Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites.

For a full list of corporate partners and information on how to become a corporate partner, or to become a table host, purchase tickets or place a tribute in the tribute book, please visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards or call (212) 219-0111.