GLAAD's Head Ousted After String of Setbacks

When Jarrett Barrios became head of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination, many were hoping that it would mark a new era of activism. The venerable organization, one of the best-funded and best-connected in the media and corporate worlds, had come in for criticism for being too cozy with the organizations it was supposed to be monitoring.

Now, after less than two years as president of GLAAD, Barrios has resigned after being threatened with termination by the organization's executive committee. The resignation has been confirmed by GLAAD, which sent out the following: "This evening Jarrett Barrios resigned from his position as President of GLAAD. I'm sure you might have seen a Politico article that ran this evening regarding GLAAD's Board of Directors. I just wanted to let you know there will be an announcement from GLAAD this evening to address those accusations."

Politico's Ben Smith first broke the story late Saturday, June 18. The immediate cause, according to Smith, was a highly controversial letter that Barrios sent to the Federal Communications Commission recommending the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile. The merger would create the largest cell-phone company in the country and, critics allege, would further thwart competition in an already consolidated industry.

Barrios tried to backtrack on the letter after a tsunami of criticsm. But, as reported here, that only fanned the flames of those who see Barrios -- and, by extension, GLAAD -- as too cozy with media groups.

Barrios' first letter to the FCC was dated Jan 4, 2010; a second, dated Jan. 15, claimed the earlier letter was a mistake. He later tried to blame the whole imbroglio on his secretary. But the backtracking only appeared to alienate him further from a membership and board already in turmoil over the letter. Nor did it help that other organizations, including another advocacy organization, the NAACP, endorsed the merger.

Barrios' position was further undermined when a former board member, Laurie Perper, appeared on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius radio show to say that GLAAD had become so badly tarnished by such moves that the best thing was for the group to cease operations all together.

This wasn't the first time GLAAD had appeared ham-handed in its dealings with a large corporation. Only a few months after Barrios took office, GLAAD was involved in controversy when it defended ABC's decision to cancel Adam Lambert's appearances on the network after the singer kissed a band member during a performance at the American Music Awards.

Barrios wrote a statement that said, "It would appear that the kiss between Adam Lambert and his keyboardist did not factor into ABC's decision. ABC has a history of positive gay and transgender inclusion that includes featuring kisses between gay and lesbian couples on-air."

That did not sit well with activists, who saw GLAAD as caving into one of the networks that supports the organization. GLAAD appeared quickly to backtrack, stating that "GLAAD has consistently advocated that Adam Lambert and openly gay artists not be held to a double standard." Even so, the "American Idol" finalist was bumped from "Good Morning America." CBS's morning show picked up the singer --�and scored in the ratings.

GLAAD was founded in 1985 to counter negative images of gay men, lesbians, transsexuals and bisexuals in the media. It has become one of the most powerful national LGBT organizations. Its fund-raisers and awards shows attract some of the top names in show business.

GLAAD has become the de facto go-to organization when a celebrity's words or actions seem homophobic, as was shown most recently in a rant by comedian Tracy Morgan. GLAAD has worked with sports stars and others in the public eye who have received a black eye from anti-gay remarks.

Barrios was considered a breath of fresh air for GLAAD and national gay organizations in general when he ascended to the presidency in September 2009. He had been a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the State Senate. He also headed the state's largest private health provider, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.

The fact that he was of Hispanic heritage and spoke Spanish fluently was widely seen as a sign that GLAAD was reaching out to minority communities.

As of now, GLAAD itself has been silent on who might replace him. Nor has there been any statement from Barrios himself, who, some say, is looking to the larger board of directors to reverse the decision, which appears unlikely. Now that Barrios' head has been placed on the chopping block, many bloggers and activists have smelled blood. They're aiming their sites at Troup Coronado, a GLAAD board member who was a higher-up working in public relations for AT&T and whom many blame for the endorsement fiasco.