On Saturday, CNN anchor Don Lemon presented the Outstanding Documentary award to Investigation Discovery’s Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four  at the 28^th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City. Elizabeth Ramirez accepted the award on the documentary’s behalf, and was joined onstage by director Deborah Esquenazi, producer Sam Tabet, and the rest of the ‘San Antonio Four,’ Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera, and Anna Vasquez.

Ramirez movingly expressed that the San Antonio Four’s story is a “cautionary tale of what happens when homophobia and misogyny and the misuse of science are present in our courts.” Ramirez pointed to the documentary as a “testament to the power of filmmaking that shedding light on injustices can create real change.”

The four also had the opportunity to celebrate their award with Rosie O’Donnell, who had presented Billy Porter with an award earlier that night. One of their biggest supporters, O’Donnell could not pass up the chance to give a surprise backstage visit to the brave women whose story moved the entire crowd.

Southwest of Salem: The Story of San Antonio Four tells the heart-rending story of four Latina lesbians and their fight for exoneration after spending nearly 15 years in prison for wrongful conviction of sexual assault. The documentary highlights the homophobia permeating both the criminal justice system and society at large, which tilted the scales against the San Antonio Four.

 In November 2016, the women were exonerated by Texas’ highest criminal court, following the documentary’s film festival circuit tour and Investigation Discovery premiere — to record ratings for the network — just one month before.

The Los Angeles GLAAD Media Awards were held April 1 at the Beverly Hilton. The 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta Airlines, Hilton, Ketel One Vodka, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Wells Fargo.

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and the issues that affect their lives.  They also fund GLAAD’s work to amplify stories from the LGBTQ community that build support for equality and acceptance.

Oxygen’s Strut took home the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program at the 28^th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City on Saturday. Executive producer Whoopi Goldberg and model Isis King accepted the award on the show’s behalf, joined onstage by Cecilio “CeCe” Asuncion, Laith De La Cruz, Dominique Jackson, Ren Spriggs, and Arisce Wanzer. Mr. Robot co-stars Carly Chaikin and Christian Slater presented the award.

Accepting the award, Whoopi Goldberg urged paying close attention to anti-transgender lawmakers up for re-election in two years, slamming them for putting partisanship above the lives of transgender Americans: “If it ain’t about the people, it’s about the party, and it should never be about the party — it should always be about the people.”

Cast member Isis King highlighted the show’s impact, calling attention to the lack of representation of trans people, “especially trans people of color who are just living their lives and following their dreams.”

Strut follows a group of transgender models working at Slay Model Management, the world’s first exclusively transgender modeling agency. While transgender models are not new to the modeling world – having graced magazine covers and catwalks for decades – Strut offers an exclusive look into how these models navigate the industry’s high levels of competition, family acceptance, and breaking down gender barriers and discriminatory beauty standards.

The Los Angeles GLAAD Media Awards were held April 1 at the Beverly Hilton. The 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta Airlines, Hilton, Ketel One Vodka, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Wells Fargo.

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and the issues that affect their lives.  They also fund GLAAD’s work to amplify stories from the LGBTQ community that build support for equality and acceptance.