Actress Debra Messing rallied the LGBT community to take on President Trump and flood the congressional switchboard with complaints about the administration’s treatment of women and the gay community.
The “Smash” and “Will & Grace” alum, who was the recipient of the excellence in media award at the 28th GLAAD Awards on Saturday, clapped back by delivering a caustic acceptance speech that took aim at Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump for their complicity in the administration’s discriminatory tactics.
“We have a lot to do, but I’m not going to stop — I mean, I can’t now that you’ve given me an award — because at the end of the day it’s our responsibility to look out for one another,” Messing said. “It’s the American way. So we rise. And together with grit and hope, we will celebrate America at its most beautiful and free.”
Here’s a roundup of Messing’s best zingers and stirring moments.
Her bait and switch: “We all must remember that one great show or character or news story can alter our culture permanently. I should know: I starred in one of the most iconic gay shows of all time… ‘Smash.’ By telling the story of two girls fighting it out to star in a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, I believe that we taught the country about high camp and big scars without ever seeming preachy!
“I’m kidding, of course. ‘Smash’ came after ‘Will & Grace.'”
“It is time to make America gay again!”: “What Vice President Joe Biden said was very humbling and eye opening: Entertainment and news media shape not only culture, but also decisions made in courtrooms, classrooms and, yes, even voting booths. The country needs excellence in media. Now more than ever, we have got to get to work, which is why I’m so happy that ‘Will & Grace’ is coming back in September. It is time to make America gay again! I mean, someone’s gotta take down Mother Pence. Talk about a low-hanging fruit. I know that will make people laugh, but I hope that will make people think too, because things are getting dire.
“To paraphrase Charles Dickens. This year has sucked. Our democracy and humanity have been under attack. But unless you are an unenlightened, straight cisgender white male, you are a target, that means that makes us all targets.”
Her congressional switchboard call-a-thon: “There is a very bad and very orange man in our White House — at least a few days a month. The person we shall not name came this close to signing an executive order that legally allows for discrimination against the LGBT community under the banner of religious freedom. If that makes you as angry as it makes me, then raise your voice. Call the White House. Call your representative. Call your senators. Actually, take out your phones right now and put in the number (202) 224-3121. That is the number of the congressional switchboard in Washington, D.C. …keep that number in your phone. Text it to 10 people you know and call it… every day.”
Promoting the resistance: “We are fighting for the soul of our country. But don’t get discouraged. The resistance has accomplished more in the first 100 days than the president has in his. And we got pussyhats out of it, so there. Make no mistake: When we make noise, they pay attention.”
Her direct appeal to Ivanka Trump, a.k.a. “the secretary of straight”: “It is not enough to simply say that women’s issues are important to you. It’s time to do something. Ivanka, you can change the lives of millions of women and children just by telling your dad stories about real people who are suffering. Don’t let him separate immigrant mothers from their American-born children. Don’t let him take healthcare away from women who need it. Don’t allow him to make trans kids like Gavin [Grimm] fight in court for their basic human dignity. Please stop blindly defending your father and start defending what you say you believe in. You can’t just write #womenwhowork and think you’re advancing feminism. You need to be a woman who does good work #saywhatyoumeanandmeanwhatyousay.”
“Do right by your colorist”: Still directly addressing Ivanka Trump as “one Jewish mother to another,” she said, “Ivanka, we know you love the guy who does your hair color. It’s good, by the way. So do right by your colorist…. Imagine how you’ll feel sitting at Passover Seder if you can tell your children that you fought for justice and freedom. It will make you feel richer than owning all the skyscrapers and golf courses in the world. The country wants to support you, and as a bonus if you get Steve Bannon out of your dad’s office, I bet we’ll put you back in Nordstrom’s.”
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