Gay And Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

Last month, the Rev. Donald Wildmon, the prime mover in the religious right's attempt to banish TV programs it considers offensive, launched a boycott of two corporations that sponsored what he labeled "filth" on network television. This month, several organizations that see Wildmon and his tactics as a "McCarthyesque threat to freedom of expression" have begun to fight back. "Corporations have been hesitant to stand up to him in the past.

To understand Chastity Bono and the growing clout she wields in Hollywood, consider the case of "As Good as It Gets," an offbeat comedy due out from Sony Pictures at Christmas. Initially, the folks at the Motion Picture Assn. of America objected to the film's trailer, in which an acid-tongued romance novelist (Jack Nicholson) calls his gay artist neighbor (Greg Kinnear) a "fag." The word is derogatory, the MPAA said, and should be cut.

HBO's six-hour adaptation of Tony Kushner's landmark play "Angels in America"; Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"; ESPN's first original dramatic series, "The Playmakers"; the PBS documentary "Brother Outsider"; and the Diane Lane film "Under the Tuscan Sun" are among the nominees for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's 15th annual GLAAD Media Awards, which are being announced today.

The Paramount Television Group and representatives of the gay and lesbian community have reached a tentative accord regarding Laura Schlessinger's new television show, including some reassurance from the studio that the program will feature a variety of viewpoints regarding the hot-button issue of homosexuality.

Thanking the audience for "the Oscar of homosexual trophies," actress Debra Messing of NBC's "Will & Grace" accepted the award for outstanding comedy series at the Los Angeles ceremony of the 11th Annual Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Awards.

The 30-second public service announcement featured Bob Hope, but its subject was no laughing matter. "I was amazed to learn that many people die each year in anti-gay attacks, and thousands more are left scarred emotionally and physically," the comedian intoned. "Prejudice hurts . . . kills. Don't be a part of it." For Hope, the making of the spot represented an apology.

The furor over "Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington's alleged use of an anti-gay slur heated up again Wednesday as Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) President Neil G. Giuliano called on him to apologize. Speaking to the media following the medical drama's Golden Globe win for best TV drama series on Monday, Washington denied that he had used a slur to refer to costar T.R. Knight during an on-set altercation with fellow costar Patrick Dempsey.

He was only 14 years old, but Richard Noble knew this was no ordinary crush. The object of his affections was another boy. When he tried to express his feelings, "it got spread around that I was the school fag," recalled Noble, now 26. "I got into seven fights before my dad took me out of school." The way he sees things now, gay bashing takes many forms.

Incendiary talk-radio host Michael Savage, accused of being racist, homophobic and misogynistic by groups organizing boycotts of his new television show on cable's MSNBC, moved earlier this week from KPLS-AM (830) to KRLA-AM (870). On KRLA, owned by Christian broadcaster Salem Communications Corp, "The Savage Nation" joins a lineup that also includes conservative commentators Michael Medved and Dennis Prager. Savage's shows air weeknights from 5 to 8 p.m.