Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (September 19, 2008)

I have to say that of all the regular castmembers, I was probably most excited to meet Ana Ortiz, who every week injects gallons of heart and humor into the character of Hilda, Betty's flighty yet incredibly caring sister and mother to Justin, a teen boy whose affinity for fashion and musicals was a cause of a lot of family discord in Season 1.

Ana Ortiz

I asked Ana, who has appeared in PSAs against anti-gay bullying and who was the special guest at a gay pride party in Miami this summer, why it was that gay issues are close to her heart:

"I think for my generation this is the civil rights issue of our time. That's not to say that racism has by any stretch been conquered or taken care of, but when one group of people is so blatantly discriminated against and nobody says anything about it, it's a crime. Many of my family members are gay, my best friends, and to me is just ludicrous that any group would be penalized and looked at as second-class citizens ... in 2008!"

I also asked her what curveballs Justin was going to be throwing Hilda's way, and she swooned at the very name of the youngest, most fabulous Suarez:

"Ah, my baby. You know, he's growing up. You know, in Latino families there's such a clutch. And I think he's gonna have to find his wings and figure out his own stuff. I know that he's dealing with bullies at school right now and that's going to be an issue - of course Hilda's first instinct is to go down there and beat somebody up..."

I, for one, would pay to see that. Oh, and I was a little shocked to find that her New Yawk accent on the show is totally a put-on. She had me convinced!

I followed up by speaking with Justin himself ... or at least Mark Indelicato, the young actor who plays him. I asked about the bullying storyline, and he had some interesting details to share ...

"Justin goes through some bullying this season but turns out in a friendly relationship with the bully, which is kinda weird. It's great. It shows that Justin is just being himself, his fashion-obsessed self, and it amounts in a friend. It really teaches kids not to change who they are, not to act like a jock just because they're not accepted yet, because they will be."

I then asked if Justin had any crushes this season or a love interest, and he answered, "I don't know - no love interest, just this friend. But maybe ... maybe a love interest." (We followed up with creator Silvio Horta and he's confirmed that no, Justin does not have a love interest at this point.)

Becki Newton

On a lighter note, I chatted with Becki Newton, who plays the wonderfully narcissistic Amanda, and asked if she and gay bestie Marc St. James (Michael Urie, who wasn't there, unfortch) would be up to their usual scheming this season: "When do we not scheme? I think we even scheme when we're trying to figure out what bagel to eat, we scheme about it. You're going to see them ganging up on Betty and also including Betty. I wish I could tell you everything because it's all so exciting..."

Indeed! She confirmed she and Marc are "besties forever" despite the shakeup at Mode. Speaking of...

Next page: The new hotties of Ugly Betty, including one guy begging for a gay following...