Wilson Cruz, an openly gay actor, spoke to students about his career and the evolution of LGBT representation in media. He discussed portraying one of the first openly gay teenagers on television in the 1990s show My So-Called Life. Cruz praised growing support for LGBT issues in media but said more work remains. Impersonators of Elton John, Lady Gaga, and Madonna performed after, though their singing was poorly received with costumes having issues. Students enjoyed Cruz's speech but had criticisms of the impersonators' performances.

1. Melissa Lindley
Wilson Cruz/Impersonators
Actor and GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz spoke to a packed auditorium of
students in the Bart Ludeke Center on Monday at 9:30 PM, accompanied by tributes
to musicians Elton John, Lady Gaga, and Madonna. Cruz appeared to discuss his
career as an openly gay actor on television and Broadway, and addressed both the
evolution and hindrances that the LGBT community has encountered in the media.
He has appeared on television programs such as Grey’s Anatomy, the short-lived cult
series My So-Called Life as Rickie Vasquez, and currently has a recurring role on
Logo’s Noah’s Arc as Junito Vargas.
Students were addressed on a myriad of issues that are lacking in the
media, from television shows showing little recognition of the struggles of LGBT
youth, a lack of portraying racial diversity in the gay community, and avoiding direct
depictions of homosexuality with vague references. He has been quite pleased that
there has been an immense amount of support of gay rights and an increase of
media portrayal despite protests and criticism.
“If the work is being done, I feel like this generation is in good hands,” he said
after his speech. “I feel like I was here to put things in context.”
Cruz’s character Rickie on My So-Called Life was a groundbreaking period for
the LGBT community in the early ‘90s. Very few shows referenced homosexuality
explicitly at the time, and Cruz’s character depicted the common struggles growing

2. up as a gay teenager. His role in the show portrayed the difficulties that were
unknown to the majority of people at the time.
Cruz praised the media for supporting shows that have worked hard to
educate and bring awareness to issues in the LGBT community, but acknowledged
that there’s still a lot more work to be done.
“I think where we’ve come is amazing, but where we’re going is even better.”
Performances by tribute musicians of Elton John, Lady Gaga, and Madonna
followed Cruz’s speech, fitting the category of icons that have played a huge role in
supporting gay rights and are known to be prominent gay icons of their generation.
Songs such as Like A Virgin, Poker Face, and Crocodile Rock were among the
plethora of songs sung that evening.
The crowd on the other hand, was not very pleased with the entertainers,
some leaving during the beginning of the performance. Interactions with the
audience were awkwardly flamboyant; the singing sounded nothing like the original
artists, and the Lady Gaga impersonator had a wardrobe malfunction with
ornaments falling off the costume.
“It was entertaining, but not in a good way. Everyone was laughing at how
badly they were singing. It felt like it was thrown together,” said junior Alicia
Abruzzese.
“The costumes basically looked like they were cheaply made. Nobody
wanted to give her an honest answer (about her costumes) because they didn’t want
to be mean. Nobody really wanted to (go up on stage). They had to pull somebody
up.”

3. However, Abruzzese did have a positive word about the evening.
“I enjoyed Cruz’s speech immensely. It was the performers that were
horrible.”
Campus Life coordinator Nick Barbati felt that the speech and following
performances were a good start for upcoming events.
“I thought the performers were great. I think as a campus community, we can
do an LGBT heritage month.”