Rod 2.0:Beta #gay #news #lgbt #gaynews

VIDEO: Amber Riley Performs "I Will Always Love You" on "Glee"

Last night's episode of Glee offered an emotional tribute to the late and iconic superstar Whitney Houston. Amber Riley—who is celebrating a birthday today—performed a stunning cover of "I Will Always Love You"

Easily the best performance so far by Ms. Riley. Just beautiful. Watch it AFTER THE JUMP ...

GLAAD Announces 22nd Annual Media Awards; Rod 2.0 Included in New Category

GLAAD announced the nominees for its 22nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. And bit of a surprise: Rod 2.0 is nominated in a new category.

Among the nominees: Lisa Cholodenko's Golden Globe®-nominated film The Kids Are All Right, I Love You Phillip Morris, starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, Howl, starring James Franco, the summer hit film Easy A, HBO's acclaimed drama True Blood, Fox's hit show Glee, ABC's hit comedy Modern Family, NBC's hit sitcom 30 Rock, Prodigal Sons, a documentary about a transgender woman and her family, season eight of Project Runway, The Oprah Winfrey Show for Ricky Martin's first televised interview, MSNBC's interview with Fort Worth City Council member Joel Burns, CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, Essence.com's "Bridal Bliss: Aisha and Danielle," the Scissor Sisters, Chely Wright, and Spanish-language nominees Levántate, Aquí y Ahora, Caso Cerrado, Casos de Familia, and openly gay music artists Christian Chávez and Fedro.

This year GLAAD introduced a new category to recognize independent blogs, in recognition of the growing role of online media in shaping today's culture. The first nominees in this category are The Bilerico Project, Blabbeando, Joe. My. God., Pam's House Blend, and Rod 2.0.

That's excellent news for R20 to be included among the first nominees. Many thanks to GLAAD for the recognition and congrats to the other nominees.

The nominations for Outstanding Documentary include TvOne's much-acclaimed "Sylvester Unsung." The full list of the #GLAADAWARDS nominees AFTER THE JUMP ...

WATCH: Chris Colfer Dedicates Golden Globe to Bullied Youth

An emotional moment at the Golden Globe Awards, when Chris Colfer won Best Supporting Actor in a TV series for his role as Glee's gay teen Kurt Hummel.

"Mostly importantly [a thank you] to all the amazing kids that watch our show and that our show celebrates and are constantly told 'no' [by] people and environments and bullies at school, that they can't be who they are or can't have what they want because of who they are," he told the room, adding, "Screw that, kids."

This is the first Golden Globe for Colfer. Some other LGBT-related wins at the Golden Globes included: Jane Lynch for Best Supporting Actress in a TV series for Glee; Glee for Best Musical or Comedy TV series; Jim Parsons for Best Actor in a TV series for The Big Bang Theory; Annette Bening for Best Actress in Musical or Comedy for The Kids Are All Right and The Kids Are All Right for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

Watch the clip AFTER THE JUMP ...

Mark Indelicato Too Young for Glee: "My Dreams Are Crushed"

Awww. Fifteen-year-old Mark Indelicato, who just wrapped a brilliant four-year run as Justin Suarez on Ugly Betty, learns that he is too young to audition for a role on Glee. Indelicato tweets his heartbreak: "I'm not 16 yet. My dreams have been crushed."

Can't the producers make an exception?

Only earlier that day the teen actor asked fans for their opinions on casting: "Everyone has been saying that I should be Kurt's boyfriend. I was thinking more of an emo, eye-liner wearing rocker ala Joan Jett. Thought?"

And hours ago: The teen actor uploaded this poignant "Happy Birthday" to Ugly Betty star America Ferrara.

So sweet. But Glee isn't going anywhere so there's always next year. Wish Mark the best on Twitter or at his blog ...

WATCH: Constance McMillen at the GLAAD Awards

Last night, the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards were presented in Los Angeles.

Constance McMillen presented Wanda Sykes with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award. McMillen sued her rural Mississippi school district after it canceled prom she asked to attend with her girlfriend. She later appeared on The Wanda Sykes Show where the host invited her to the awards. Constance said on the red carpet: "All I did was stand up for what I believe in and what I was told what's right. I'm going to continue to do that."

The teen activist becomes the latest personality to lend her face to photographer Adam Bouska's striking "No H8" campaign. Watch the short interview where she talks about her school and being bullied AFTER THE JUMP.

Other GLAAD honorees included: Outstanding Comedy Series: Glee. Outstanding Film: Tom Ford's A Single Man.  Outstanding Reality Program: RuPaul's Drag Race. Iron Chef's Cat Cora presented the Vanguard award to Drew Barrymore.  Outstanding Spanish-Language TV Journalism Segment: "Polémicas Adopciones" Noticiero Telemundo. GLAAD also announced that Octavio Solis' Lydia received the award in the Outstanding Los Angeles Theater category.

GLAAD live-Tweeted the red carpets and awards HERE. The official hi-res photos from the event will be posted today by 5P PT HERE. In the meantime, Greg in Hollywood has an excellent photo gallery.

Video clips for the awards ceremony should be online later. Watch Constance AFTER THE JUMP ...