GLAAD chief resigns, but AT&T fallout continues

Following the resignation of Jarrett Barrios as president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation on June 18, gay activists are calling for reassessment of the group’s policies and for more heads to roll over its backing of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile.

GLAAD’s board of directors will discuss by telephone whether to formally accept Barrios’s resignation. Influential members of the gay community say they believe Barrios’s resignation is a positive for GLAAD, but that the organization may need to further clean house and revisit its advocacy for causes unrelated to gay rights. “GLAAD certainly has an AT&T problem that isn't going to go away when Jarrett leaves,” John Aravosis, editor of AMERICAblog and a leading gay rights advocate. Aravosis called for the resignation of another GLAAD board member, Troup Coronado, a former AT&T official and lobbyist. Coronado’s bio on GLAAD’s website said that from 2008 to 2010 Coronado worked as AT&T’s vice president for external affairs in Los Angeles. AT&T had identified Coronado as a lobbyist for the company as recently as 2006, but the company said in its 2008 filing that he was no longer representing AT&T as a lobbyist. Coronado is “going to have to pack his bags and get on the same train Jarrett is taking,” Aravosis said.