The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has a lot to be excited about after this year's Golden Globes -- and no, we're not just talking about Elton John's bitter (but now trademark) remarks about Madonna after she nabbed the award for Best Song.
Cast members from "Modern Family," which won for Best Comedy, used the awards as an opportunity to speak out against a congregation of anti-gay demonstrators from the Westboro Baptist Church, who were reportedly demonstrating outside of the Beverly Hills Hilton, where the awards were being held. "America is a great place, speech is free and you're able to expose the fact that you're an idiot," Eric Stonestreet, who plays Cameron, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, Jesse Tyler Ferguson -- named "Actor of the Year" as part of Out magazine's annual"Out 100" list last fall -- noted that he'd received strong feedback from families about the show's portrayal of LGBT characters. "We don't try to be too heavy-handed with it but I think it's opening up people's minds and hearts," said Ferguson, who plays Mitchell. "It's a good thing." Added Julie Bowen, who plays Claire: "In country clubs all across America, the doors are cracking open."
Meanwhile, the LGBT community also got a shout-out from "The Descendants" star George Clooney, who called Republican candidate Mitt Romney's possible nomination "the wrong side of history" before describing the struggle for marriage equality and other LGBT issues as "the last leg of the civil rights movement."
Actor Christopher Plummer, who won for his portrayal of an elderly man who comes out later in life in "Beginners," shared similar sentiments. "Gay characters are human beings, we're all exactly the same," he said. “I know there’s an awful lot of anti-gay feeling right now, particularly at this moment, and I abhor it.”
Would you expect anything less from the man who played Captain von Trapp?