BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Jim Parsons from “The Big Bang Theory” was seated at a center table. The “Carrie” actress Chloë Grace Moretz had been spotted swishing around in pink polka dots. The dreamy soccer star Robbie Rogers was there being, well, dreamy. Ho-hum, and back to the lobster dinner: The 600 people gathered here last Friday for a $10,000-a-table charity event — the Glsen Respect Awards, dedicated to fighting bullying in schools — came largely from the movie and television industries, and you can’t impress Hollywood with celebrities.
But then a skinny, soft-spoken 16-year-old from rural Tennessee took the stage. Forks dropped, followed by jaws, as Andrew Lawless spoke about being terrorized at school because of his sexuality. Last winter, he walked into a school bathroom, where two boys shouted gay slurs and slammed him into the walls. “Then I was dragged into a bathroom stall, where my safety was taken from me,” he said. He took a gulp of air. “I became a victim of sexual assault.”
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