Hetrick-Martin Institute's Emery Awards Honor Arianna Huffington, 'Glee' Creator Ryan Murphy & Marc Ecko For LGBT Support (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
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Arianna Huffington, fashion entrepreneur Marc Ecko, and "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy were honored on Tuesday night for their support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues at the Hetrick-Martin Institute's 24th annual Emery Awards. Hetrick-Martin is home of New York's Harvey Milk High School for gay youth.
Wendy Williams MC'd the event while the outspoken Bethenny Frankel of "Bethenny Getting Married" and "Real Housewives of New York" fame ran the auction, (jokingly, we assume) promising high bidders oral sex with her husband. The audience roared with laughter.
When "Glee" star Matthew Morrison introduced the show's creator Ryan Murphy, he asked how many attendants were TiVo-ing "Glee" at home at that very moment. Quite a few hands shot up. Morrison later sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" while strumming a ukulele--which, he reported, was his audition song for "Glee."
Upon accepting her award, Arianna (who was introduced by Suze Orman) said "Everything about the Institute is what we need more of in this country, including its beginning: two amazing men who were moved by the plight of one 15-year-old who was beaten and thrown out of an emergency shelter for being gay, and who demonstrated the kind of deep empathy and sustained engagement that this country needs more of than ever right now."
She was referring to the following story, from Hetrick-Martin's website:
In 1979, life partners and educators on gay and lesbian issues, Dr. Emery Hetrick, a psychiatrist, and Dr. Damien Martin, a professor at New York University, heard the heartbreaking story of a homeless 15-year-old boy who had been beaten and thrown out of his emergency shelter because he was gay. They were so moved that they gathered a group of concerned adults and created what was then called the Institute for the Protection of Lesbian and Gay Youth (IPLGY) to assist this group of young people who desperately needed support. In 1988, the organization was renamed The Hetrick-Martin Institute in honor of its founders and their lifelong commitment to service.
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First Posted: 11/11/10 10:01 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:10 PM ET