Jennifer Lopez Honored by Gay Rights Group at Washington D.C. Gala

The DC-based rights group, Human Rights Campaign, awarded Jennifer Lopez the 2013 Ally for Equality Award on its annual national dinner on Saturday night, which by the end of the night raised $2.5 million. The rights group advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights in the United States.

Lopez is receiving the award due to her show “The Fosters,” which she’s producing, about a biracial, lesbian couple raising a family. The gala made sure to promote the show as well, doling out gift bags with pens and notebooks promoting the show, according to the Washington Post.

Upon accepting her award from feminist Gloria Steinem, Lopez told her, “you make me so proud to be a woman.” In a landmark year that witnessed major legal victories for gay marriage, Lopez tapped in to the debate, telling the crowd, “I’m a single mm, raising my own so-called non-traditional family.”

This past July, Lopez came under fire for performing for Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, whose regime is guilty of a slew of human rights abuses. Her reps claimed the performer was unaware of any human rights issues, and would not have attended if she had known.