Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur host first-ever broadcast Media Access Awards
The Media Access Awards honors TV, film and media that have inclusive and accurate representation of people with disabilities.
LOS ANGELES -- This year, the Media Access Awards (MAA) will be hosted by Oscar winners Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur. The night works to honor and recognize both artists and projects with accurate and inclusive representation of disability in television, film and new media.
Matlin and Kotsur starred alongside each other in the Academy Award-winning film "CODA" and are reuniting to mark the first time in history that two Deaf actors host an awards show together. This will also be the first year an awards show, focused on disability representation, will be broadcast.
On The Red Carpet had a chance to speak with Matlin ahead of the MAA where she said, "This night is special because, first of all, it's bigger and we're more visible because we're on television, both in the disabled and deaf communities. So, everyone out there, non-disabled and disabled alike, will be able to see us. It's the first Deaf-hosted awards show in Hollywood. You can't get any better than that with Troy Kotsur next to me!"
Kotsur was passionate about the event, saying "The Media Access Awards is important because obviously, access is for everyone instead of 'normal' people. Don't forget that we exist too. People with disabilities, people who are Deaf, people who have CP, people who use wheelchairs, and we're part of the mainstream, and that's why it's important that I'm here, to encourage us all to work together, because everyone has a story to tell."
