Think awards dedicated to excellence in the media only go to artsy movies and TV shows? Think again, Jack. "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," the popular reality program from TLC, recently received a GLAAD Media Award nomination. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation was likely impressed by the show's acceptance of Uncle Poodle's sexuality.
According to its official website, the "GLAAD Media Awards celebrate outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and our allies on TV, in film, and in the news. These are the images and stories that bring us closer to equality."
Other shows receiving GLAAD nominations include "Grey's Anatomy," "Glee," "Modern Family," and "The Amazing Race."
While nobody would confuse "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" with "The Sopranos," the show has made an effort to, in GLAAD's words, "reflect a new American landscape where a growing majority accept and value their LGBT family, colleagues, and friends." Honey Boo Boo herself (real name: Alana Thompson) once famously said, "Ain't nothing wrong with being a little gay. Everybody's a little gay."
Honey Boo Boo's Uncle Poodle (real name: Lee Thompson) has played an important role in showing viewers what it's like for a man to live in the South and be gay. Thompson recently revealed that he is HIV-positive. Thompson told Fenuxe, an Atlanta-based magazine, that he was infected by an ex-boyfriend who didn't disclose that he had HIV. "I would have been cool with his HIV status if he had been honest," he said. "I don't have an issue with the disease. I would have known how to protect myself."
Thompson's ex is currently serving a five-year prison sentence because of the duplicity.