The event began with a silent auction and a small cocktail party. There were tons of different custom made bears signed by celebrities with other nice little surprises. Unfortunately, Jennifer Beals bear wasn’t displayed because they took it to be signed by Jennifer when she arrived. I saw the picture and it was a very cute bear.

Dinner table

The award ceremony took place during dinner with talks, memories and videos about Matthew Shepard’s story. Jennifer wasn’t in the audience for dinner. We were told by a member of MSF staff that she had a really tight schedule and wasn’t going to be present for the photos or chats.

Finally, Jennifer came from the back stage when she was announced. She was as usual eloquent, sophisticated and a little emotional. In the beginning of her speech she talked about The L Word and how much she had learned from being on the show. She said, “The show taught me about love, authenticity and the importance of human agency.”

Jennifer Beals ©l-word.com