Once Upon A Fan

Lana Parilla took to the stage last night to voice her support of equal rights for the LGBT community across the USA and the world. Speaking in Cleveland, Lana recalled how growing up with gay family members and friends had affected her life. She spoke of her innocence as a child, who saw love and affection between her gay cousin and his boyfriend and did not question it but merely accepted it without prejudice. Lana spoke of finding that innocence again so that we all can look at life through the eyes of a child and remove the prejudices and barriers that still lead to inequality within our society. 

Lana declared: "I've always loved fairy tales, 'cause they often feature characters who triumph over adversity. I want to continue to make a difference. I support equal rights, and marriage equality".

Lana also spoke of her dear friends, Joshua M. Ferguson and Florian Halbedl, the inspiration behind the forthcoming Whispers of Life film, a project very close to her heart that has just started development. The project aims to bring awareness to the complex issues of gay youth suicide and the discrimination many gay youths go through that can lead them down a suicidal path.

You can learn all about Whispers of Life here and you can watch Lana's full speech in high-def here.

More pics from the evening can be found in the Photo Gallery.

Huge thanks to Vision Video Photography for giving permission to use the photos and video from last nights gala.