OUT 100: Wanda Sykes is entertainer of the year; Cyndi Lauper, Dan Choi, Rob Marshall & Scott Evans also make list

Love this cover much more than the one a few years back that featured Anderson Cooper and Jodie Foster.

I’m fans of their work and respect their decision to be private about their sexuality but I like to see people who embrace being gay (Adam Lambert,. Wanda Sykes, Rob Marshall and Dan Choi) and wonderful straight allies (Cyndi Lauper) being featured.

The full list was unveiled today and includes some of my faves like Broadway stars Gavin Greel and Christopher Sieber, TV stars Scott Evans (One Life to Live), Neil Patrick Harris, Jesse Tyler Fergusen (Modern Family) and Phillip Keene (The Closer) and the hard-working blogger Pam Spaulding and The Advocate’s Washington correspondent Kerry Eleveld whose work at this crucial time in our history is so important.

There are some names I find a little questionable (Barney Frank?) and some glaring omissions starting with Dustin Lance Black.

How can you have a list without the Oscar winning screenwriter of Milk after the year he has had and the impact he has had on so many people.  His Oscar night speech alone should put him at the top of the list.

But it’s hard to quibble with Wanda Sykes as entertainer of the year. She has not only had a breakthrough year professionally with her new late-night show, ongoing sitcom role and memorable performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner, but she has really stepped up as an LGBT activist at a crucial time in history.

I also want to give a huge sbout-out to Cyndi Lauper who was named ally of the year. She has done so much over the years for the LGBT community with her activism coming from a very authentic place. She has done the True Colors summer tours and among her other most laudable achievement  is this: the True Colors Resicence in Harlam – the first permanent supportive housing facility for LGBT youth in New York state.

Says Cyndi: “Kids are coming out in greater numbers as they see themselves accepted and represented on TV and in movies. But they are kicked out of their homes or running away and living on the streets. We need to make sure we’re taking care of them.”

Thank God for Cyndi Lauper.

To see the full OUT 100 list, click HERE.

Related posts:

— Adam Lambert named breakout star in OUT 100

— Neil Patrick Harris named to OUT 100!

— Chaz Bono in OUT 100