justin berfield: presenter at the annual genesis award

justin berfield is currently known for his role as "reese" on fox tv's smash comedy "malcolm in the middle." fifteen-year-old justin was previously known for his role as "ross malloy" on the wb's hit comedy series "unhappily ever after." born and raised in california, justin ohlds a third degree red belt in the marial art tang soo doo and has won various state and karate tournament awards.

because of his love for animals, justin was one presenter at the fifteenth annual genesis awards in hollywood, and he reported back to animal free press some of the evening's highlights.

tell us about the genesis awards. why were you involved?
i love animals and the genesis awards honors people in the major news and entertainment media who have raised public awareness on issues of animal abuse and exploitation. gretchen wyler, founder of the ark trust, invited me, and i jumped at the chance to be a part.

whom did you present the award to?
i was joined by kimmi "the vegetarian" kappenberg, straight from being voted off "survivor." we presented the award for television comedy series to "popular" for a script questioning the eating of cows and the wearing of leather.

who were some of the other presenters?
the hosts of the ceremony were judd nelson, who starred in "suddenly susan," and charlotte ross, from nypd blue." there were a ton of other stars! i couldn't believe it - linda blair, doris roberts from "everybody loves raymond," tim curry of "the rocky horror picture show." and, the famous wrestling champion, goldberg, was there.

which shows won awards?
"family law" got one for a controversial story featuing a custody battle for a chimpanzee, exploring the arguments against keeping primates as companion animals. "chicken run" won outstanding feature film of the year. bill maher of "politically incorrect" brought the house down as he accepted his award for outstanding television talk show. he remarked that mad cow disease might not be such a bad thing if it actually convinced people to stop eating beef and concentrate on vegetables. imagine all the happy cows!