Debra Messing Delivered Her GLAAD Media Awards Speech to Ivanka Trump: ‘Start Defending What You Say You Believe In’

During her acceptance speech at Saturday’s GLAAD Media Awards, once and future Will & Grace star Debra Messing attempted to appeal directly to Ivanka Trump, “one Jewish mother to another,†asking her to act on behalf of women, undocumented immigrants, and, of course, the LGBTQ community while working for President Trump’s administration. “It’s not enough to simply say that women’s issues are important to you. It’s time to do something,†Messing pleaded. “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.†Messing quipped, “As a bonus, if you get Steve Bannon out of your dad’s office, I bet we’ll put you back in Nordstrom.â€

While Messing took home GLAAD’s Excellence in Media Award (“I starred in one of the most iconic gay shows of all time … Smash!,†the actress joked), she was only one of the ceremony’s many recipients. While GLAAD’s New York awards focus largely on news and digital outlets, their April 1 ceremony doled out movie and TV awards to Moonlight and Transparent, among many others (those winners are listed here). On Saturday, The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah accepted the Outstanding Talk Show Episode award for his interview with entrepreneur, actress, and transgender-rights activist Angelica Ross, while Tegan and Sara took home Outstanding Music Artist for their work on their 2016 album Love You to Death. You can read a full list of the New York GLAAD Media Award winners below.

Excellence in Media Award
Debra Messing

Vito Russo Award
Billy Porter

Outstanding Talk Show Episode
“Angelica Ross,†The Daily Show With Trevor Noah


Outstanding Reality Program
Strut, Oxygen

Outstanding Documentary
Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four, Investigation Discovery

Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine
“Church and States,†Vice on HBO

Outstanding TV Journalism Segment
“Gay Community in U.S. ‘Forged in Fire,’†The Rachel Maddow Show

Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage
Teen Vogue

Outstanding Newspaper Article
“Permission to Hate†by Elizabeth Leland, the Charlotte Observer

Outstanding Magazine Article
“HIV Mystery: Solved?†by Tim Murphy, The Nation

Outstanding Digital Journalism Article
“After the Orlando Shooting, the Changed Lives of Gay Latinos†by Daniel Wenger, Newyorker.com

Outstanding Blog
Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Outstanding Music Artist
Tegan and Sara, Love You to Death

Debra Messing Delivers GLAAD Awards Speech to Ivanka Trump