Marcia Gay Harden appeared live, sitting down with event co-host Adam Shankman (director of Disenchanted and Hairspray) to discuss what drives her to support this cause.

Gay Directors? By Emanuel Levy (Columbia University Press)

“What drives me is because it’s right and what’s happening right now is wrong,” said Harden. “What drives me is — my children are all queer. My eldest child is non-binary. My son is gay. My youngest is fluid. And you know, they are my kids and they teach me every day.”

Speaking about the wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, the Oscar-winning actress added, “This is so fear-based and it’s spreading that kind of fear and hatred among other people. I believe this country will fight that.”

Also on the telethon, Theron, who has a transgender daughter and is a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights, appeared with a group of friends in a pre-taped segment in which she told the drag community, “We love you queens. We’re in your corner and we’ve got you, and I will fuck anybody up who’s trying to fuck with anything with you guys.”

And in a statement which seemed to reference gun violence, Theron added, “There are so many things hurting and really killing our kids and we all know what I’m talking about right now and it ain’t no drag queen — because if you’ve ever seen a drag queen lip sync for her life, it only makes you happier, it only make you love more, it makes you a better person.”

The evening was produced by Producer Entertainment Group, a management firm, record label and production company, that represents drag stars and other LGBTQ talent.

The night’s lineup included a who’s who of the dragocracy, from Jinkx Monsoon (who had been scheduled to appear at the MTV Movie and TV Awards before the live telecast was cancelled), Trixie Mattel and Ginger Minj to Candis Cayne, Laganja Estranja and Sherry Vine, many of them taking calls from donors during the telethon.

One call came from a teacher in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed through the so-called Don’t Say Gay Law. “I make sure all my kids are loved,” said the teacher, “and I want everybody to know we love you in Florida. We’re here to protect all our kids. Special love to all of our trans children and trans families. We’re grateful for you.”

Along with Shankman, the night’s hosts were comic Justin Martindale and drag stars Alaska and Peppermint. Menzel appeared live from the Bourbon Room on Hollywood Boulevard with composer Tom Kitt in a group performance of the song “Light,” while Bob the Drag Queen appeared live from the Troubadour in West Hollywood performing the song “Bitch Like Me.”

The livestream included segments in which drag performers talked about how doing drag changed their lives and has provided them with a means of free expression and in which they denounced anti-drag and anti-trans legislation for demonizing them and, they contended, stoking violence against the LGBTQ community.

“We had protesters outside of every show,” West said about the tour. “We had bomb threats, bomb-sniffing dogs and, yes, we had to be driven out of one city with a police escort so we wouldn’t be driven off the road … We can’t sit back. We can’t allow this to continue. We cannot be the punching bag for people who have no idea what our community is about.”

Also included were news clips detailing not only the latest wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, but also showing politicians and right-wing media personalities castigating queer people.