Hunger Games star to get GLAAD honour for pro-gay stance
Josh Hutcherson, one of the stars of the dystopian teenage battle epic The Hunger Games will receive the GLAAD’s Vanguard Award for his pro-gay equality stance.
Hutcherson, 19, will receive the honour at the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles this weekend.
The teenage actor had recently revealed that he lost two uncles to AIDS and it spurred him to become involved in equality work for gay people.
GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said: “Emerging as a leader in a new generation of equality advocates, Josh Hutcherson has consistently used his platform to help young people understand that no one should face discrimination simply because of who they are.
“Josh’s commitment to achieving equality for every American is a message he carries in his work both on screen and off, earning him the honor of being GLAAD’s youngest-ever Vanguard Award recipient.”
Hutcherson first hit the screen as the son of Annette Benning and Julianne Moore in The Kids Are All Right, which received a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film.
He is a co-founder and a celebrity voice of Straight But Not Narrow, which encourages straight men to show support for gay equality.
In campaign videos, Hutcherson has pointed out to young straight men that having gay peers means they face less competition for girls and promises the it will not “let anybody say anything bad about anyone ever again in the history of the world”.
