The late Quincy Jones—legendary musician, producer, and humanitarian—was a powerful advocate for inclusion, research, and support for individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities. A devoted supporter of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation (GLOBAL), his legacy continues through the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award, that honors those who embody his spirit of compassion and change. GLOBAL celebrated actress, comedian and activist, Jane Lynch, as the 2025 distinguished honoree.
To receive the award, Jane Lynch joined Lauren Potter, other celebrities and impeccably dressed people with Down syndrome as they strut the catwalk at GLOBAL’s 2025 Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show. The fashion show is a vibrant celebration of artistry, advocacy and visibility of people with Down syndrome.
Before the excitement of the night began, ABILITY Magazine’s Chet Cooper and Marge Plasmier spoke with Jane Lynch and Lauren Potter, whose work together on Glee helped shift national conversations around inclusion in entertainment. Lynch and Potter gleefully reflected on their time working together and the strong characters that brought them together, both on camera and behind the scenes. They talked about the trailblazing impact Glee had on the entertainment industry as well as the progress they have observed in disability representation across the industry. Potter discussed life after Glee, exciting news about an upcoming project and her recent experience with a serious illness.
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Chet Cooper: Have either of you been to the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show before?
Lauren Potter: No, I have not. This is my first time.
Jane Lynch: This is my second time. I was here about 13 years ago, I think, when we were doing Glee. So, my second time.
Cooper: Lauren are you in the fashion show, too?
Potter: I am, yes.
Lynch: I’m going to be strutting down the catwalk as well.
Cooper: I heard that you’re getting the Quincy Jones Award.
Lynch: That I am indeed, and I’m very honored.
Cooper: When was the last time the two of you saw each other?
Potter: Ever since Glee, I think.
Lynch: Probably around 2014.
Cooper: So, do you both look the same?
Lynch: Absolutely. We’re frozen in time.
Marge Plasmier: When you saw each other, did you jump back into character?
Lynch: We didn’t. No.
Plasmier: How are your characters from Glee similar to who you are?
Lynch: Well, I think Sue Silvester is meaner than I am. And what do you think Lauren? I think Becky is naughtier than you.
Potter: I think Becky was a bully.
Lynch: Yeah, Becky was a bully, and you’re not a bully.
Potter: No, in real life, I’m not a bully.
Lynch: Yeah. Well, my character probably made you a bully. And I think that’s why we liked each other.
Potter: That is very true.
Lynch: But you know we also were very nice. We did some nice things.
Potter: Yeah, we had really good memories.
Lynch: Yes exactly, we do!
Cooper: After the event, you’ll have more good memories, I hope.
Lynch: Oh, yeah. I’m sure. We’re already making them right now.
Potter: And Jane gave me good advice on set. She’s just amazing.
Lynch: Oh, thank you, honey. I always love doing our scenes.
Potter: I just love Jane Lynch.
Lynch: I just love Lauren Potter.
Plasmier: Are you going to make a scene at the fashion show?
Lynch: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
Potter: Yeah, absolutely.
Plasmier: We love hearing about your catwalk appearance tonight, but we also want to talk about your experience in the entertainment industry, especially around accessibility and advocacy. Have you noticed any changes in the industry in the last 10 years since you’ve been together?
Lynch: I haven’t worked with anyone with Down syndrome since, so Lauren will have to answer for that. It just seems to me that there’s more sensitivity around it. There’s more of all abilities, and there’s more willingness to welcome and accommodate. So that seems to be the trajectory of the last 10 years.
Cooper: So, you feel like there’s more inclusion?
Lynch: Absolutely.
Plasmier: Lauren, how do you feel?
Potter: I feel good and happy and all of that. I’ve been around the world speaking about my dreams, my advocacy, and I’m a good public speaker.
Plasmier: You’ve been doing that a lot for the last 10 years?
Potter: Oh, yes.
Lynch: She’s a great representation of this community, and I’m proud of her. And I know everybody here is proud of her, too, and is really thrilled that she’s here for the first time for this event.
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Potter: I talk to so many people with and without intellectual disabilities.
Plasmier: Lauren, have you seen changes in the entertainment industry in the past 10 years as far as people with disabilities in the industry?
Potter: A lot more, actually.
Lynch: Progress.
Potter: Yeah, they opened so many doors for me and other people.
Cooper: Oh, you mean the foundation?
Potter: Yes, and Glee too.
Lynch: I think Glee set the precedent back in, I think, 2010. There were so many different kinds of kids, including Lauren, represented in the halls of McKinley High School. I think it really started the whole trend towards “let’s include everybody.”
Cooper: I know I saw you, Jane, at the Media Access Awards. I’m not sure if I met Lauren back then. Remember the Media Access Awards?
Lynch: We were at the same table.
Potter: Yeah, we were at the same table. I got the award with Jimmy Kimmel.
Cooper: Was that one of the first times you got an award for disability advocacy, Lauren?
Lynch: She’s gotten many.
Potter: Yes, many! I have to agree.
Plasmier: Do the two of you have plans to work together again in the future at some point?
Lynch: I hope so. We don’t have any plans ourselves, but people have to bring us together. They have to invite us to the party. So, we’re really glad that this happened, but I would love to do it again. I would love to dance with you again.
Potter: I would love to dance with you again, too.
Plasmier: What do both of you have coming up? Do you have something in the near future that’s starting up that you can share with us?
Lynch: Well, I’m in the middle of The Weakest Link, and I’m doing two episodes of Happy’s Place with Reba McEntire right now.
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Potter: Nice, I never met Reba.
Lynch: She’s so lovely. You would love her, and she would love you.
Potter: I would love to. I know there’s the cast of Glee that you went on a game show with.
Lynch: Oh, yeah! We did the Glee reunion on The Weakest Link. Did you watch it?
Potter: I did not.
Lynch: Yeah, you have to. You have to watch it. It’s really good.
Potter: I wish I was part of the game with you.
Lynch: I wish you were part of it, too. I’m so sorry.
Potter: That’s okay!
Lynch: Maybe next time we do it, sure.
Potter: Yeah, for sure.
Lynch: Heads will roll. I don’t know why you weren’t included in that.
Potter: (Laughs)
Plasmier: Lauren, do you have any projects?
Potter: Yeah, I have a movie. It’s called Molly and Drew, and we get to do it in Nashville on the 30th, which could be really exciting.
Plasmier: Oh, nice. Do you have a release date for the movie?
Potter: No, not yet.
Lynch: Did you shoot it yet?
Potter: No. We haven’t shot it yet. We will on the 30th.
Cooper: Lauren was your favorite thing about working with Jane during those years with Glee?
Potter: She just cracks me up. My favorite thing working with Jane was that we have incredible moments, and she gave me wonderful advice. When I was down and sad and upset, she’s come to my trailer and called me down. That’s why I need her to calm me down.
Lynch: Also, she needs somebody to keep her from eating too much sugar. Right?
Potter: Right. (laughs)
Lynch: Darren Criss gave you a piece of cake this big, and my niece Megan had to come down and calm you down because I couldn’t calm you down because you had a piece of cake this big. It was huge. She ate the whole thing.
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Plasmier: I don’t see a problem. (laughs)
Lynch: She was bouncing off the walls. We couldn’t get anything done.
Potter: I was crazy, actually. (laughs)
Lynch: Yeah, she was crazy.
Plasmier: Was it fun to play a “bad” character on the show?
Potter: Yeah, it’s pretty fun, actually.
Lynch: Oh, yeah. We devised so many capers together. We could be awful. But remember that one time where your character Becky was upset about something, and we were in my office and it gave us ice cream? And I said, “Why don’t you just sit back and relax and we’ll watch lifetime television for ovaries?
Potter: Yes! And I was chowing down the ice cream.
Lynch: Which wasn’t a good idea.
Potter: And I was crying and all of that.
Cooper: Can you remember any other capers?
Lynch: Remember, Lauren, when you did the morning announcement and you said, “Okay, basic, bitches?” And I was like, “Mm–hmm you do those announcements.” I remember the first time I worked with Lauren, the first episode, the Cheerios are auditioning for me, and everybody’s fine, some of them are terrible, and then Becky comes up.
Potter: And I was having to jump rope.
Lynch: She was doing jump rope, and she was trying really hard. And Sue Silvester–who actually does have a heart–went, “That girl up there who’s trying so hard, I want her. And not only do I want her as a Cheerio, I want her by my side.” And that’s when it all started this beautiful relationship.
Potter: That’s how we all started.
Lynch: Yeah, that’s where our story started.
Cooper: Well, our surprise today is we brought a jump rope for you.
Lynch: Not going to jump rope! Not in that beautiful dress.
Potter: No not in this beautiful dress!
Cooper: I was wondering if you know John C. McGinley?
Potter: Oh, yeah. He was having breakfast with his daughters and everything.
Lynch: He’s here, we’re going to see him in a little bit.
Cooper: If you could let him know that Chet said hello. I’ve known him for many, many years.
Lynch: Absolutely. Absolutely, we will.
Plasmier: Tell me about what you day at the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show looks like.
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Lynch: Right when we’re done with this interview, we’re going to go into dinner, then we’re going to get our picture took. We’re going to go to the red carpet. We’re going to be in the “step and repeat”. Then we’re going to eat.
Potter: And then we’re going to do a fashion show!
Lynch: Yes, the fashion show, then a silent auction, and then we’re going to go to bed.
Potter: Yes. Well, there is the after–party.
Plasmier: You’re going to the after–party, right?
Lynch: She’s going.
Potter: I’m going!
Lynch: She’s going to dance until the wee hours. We’ll see what happens. I’m not an after–party girl, but we’ll see what happens.
Potter: That happens with me too because sometimes I am, sometimes I not.
Lynch: Are you in your 30s now?
Potter: I’m 35 now.
Lynch: My God. Can you believe it? You were 18 when we met. You were barely legal. You couldn’t drink. You still can’t drink, right? Don’t you drink! No sugar and no alcohol.
Potter: Actually, I could drink a little bit of alcohol, but I could drink diet sodas.
Lynch: Good, I can drink diet sodas.
Potter: I had surgeries, and that was the hardest thing. Because the first one, I was close to death, and I lost all my hair and everything. And I’m alive, which is good. I’m still alive, and I’m a survivor. It was my trachea. I had trachea surgery.
Lynch: And you’re feeling better?
Potter: I feel much better. 100%.
Lynch: Oh, I’m so glad. Good.
Potter: It was pretty scary for all my parents, my family, my friends, and everything.
Plasmier: I bet. You’re looking great for having had surgery not long ago. You wouldn’t know.
Potter: Because my hair was growing a lot. And curly, too! It came out curly and everything.
Lynch: You mean you were bald for a while?
Potter: I was bald, yes. I was in ECMO* . They totally saved my life.
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*ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, is a life-saving medical therapy that provides temporary support for a patient’s heart and lungs when they are failing
Lynch: Wow. On a ventilator? Do you remember being on the ventilator? Were you in a coma?
Potter: I was in a coma.
Lynch: Did you have weird dreams? Do you remember that?
Potter: No. My dad gave me pictures, and I’ve been seeing these photos of me, and I didn’t remember anything.
Lynch: Don’t look at them anymore.
Plasmier: You’re looking great now.
Lynch: A picture of health.
Potter: I’m trying.
Founded in 2009, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation (GLOBAL) is the leading organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education, and advocacy. Its annual Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show is the largest fundraiser of its kind in the world, bringing together families, celebrities, medical experts, and community leaders to champion inclusion and raise critical funds for life–saving research and support programs.
The late Quincy Jones—legendary musician, producer, and humanitarian—was a tireless advocate for inclusion, research, and support for individuals with Down syndrome and people with disabilities. A devoted supporter of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation(GLOBAL), his legacy continues through the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award, established in 2008 to honor those who embody his spirit of compassion and change. In 2025, GLOBAL celebrates actress, comedian and activist Jane Lynch as this year’s distinguished honoree.The award is given at the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion show.
