Take the Extra Steps

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Celebrities like to make political statements at award ceremonies, and they’ve been doing it for a long time, usually to the displeasure of many.

Those less than thrilled frequently suggest the “stars” stick to what they know best, stay in their lane, and leave their political opinions at home. The response is they have the same right as anybody else to express an opinion, protected by the First Amendment, and since they have a platform, they are going to use it.

This year we’ve already had some of those delightful episodes at the Grammy and Critics Choice Awards, and we’re just getting started with plenty of awards yet to come, culminating with the Academy Awards on March 15, the Olympics of award winners’ political speeches.

This started decades ago in 1948, when actress Celeste Holm, while accepting her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, made comments about religious tolerance, a theme of her movie. There was virtually no after-the-fact controversy, though religious bigotry was very real and overt at the time.

In 1971, George C. Scott simply refused to attend or accept his Academy Award, making a different kind of political statement. He said he didn’t want to compete with other actors but later said, “The whole thing is a goddam meat parade.”

The political speech dam at the Oscars broke for good in 1973 when Marlon Brando refused to accept his Best Actor award and instead sent Sacheen Littlefeather to read a statement about our country’s incredibly poor treatment of indigenous people. It created a major controversy and an entire career for Ms. Littlefeather. (As an aside, Littlefeather claimed to be Apache and Yaqui but upon her death, DNA tests revealed she was Mexican and Anglo.)

In 1975, the producer of the winning documentary Hearts and Minds about the Vietnam War read a telegram from a Viet Cong leader and that did not go over especially well despite that wildly unpopular war.

Three years later, Vanessa Redgrave earned some boos when she unleashed a rant against “Zionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and to their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression.” It was the first time an award winner used the word “fascism” to describe anything.

The Academy, having grown weary of unpleasant political injections into what is supposed to be an evening of celebration, tried to create some rules to prevent it. As if. In 1993, Richard Gere in his role as an award presenter, decided to denounce China’s treatment of Tibet and their Buddhist population after having been specifically told not to make such a statement. He was banned from being at that awards show for 20 years as a result.

There have been plenty of other statements at plenty of awards shows. The Grammy Awards, for example, seem to have no rules at all regarding length of statements or the subjects to be discussed or the language to be used. It makes for some interesting comments.

This is not to suggest the winners should all be quiet, thank the people who helped them win whatever award they’ve won, and move along. It is to suggest if you insist on making some political or issue-related statement, do a little preparation so you at least have something coherent to say. We already know where you stand, so do a little homework, make some notes, and accept that what you say will likely have no positive impact at all. Screaming “F*** ICE!” accomplishes nothing more than demonstrating the screamer’s inarticulate shallowness. (And that saying is likely not what the speaker actually intends.)

And is that it? Is some pointless screed for a minute just before you jump back into your limo the sum total of your involvement in the issue? There are other things you could be doing.

If celebrities are truly interested in issues, they should be getting involved at the local level where there is an actual opportunity to influence issues and outcomes. So we have questions for you. Are you involved in local issues? Do you subscribe to available local media? Do you pay attention to and vote in local elections? Do you know what your local school board is up to? What about your city or town or county government? Do you know who any of those office holders are and what they stand for? Are you at least registered to vote yourself and do you vote in every election at every level?

Taylor Swift often takes the extra step of encouraging fans to vote—most notably in 2018, 2023, and 2024—and has helped register more than 100,000 voters. Charlie Kirk, a different kind of entertainer, also registered voters. Those are concrete actions far more valuable than a few words of protest.

Making an angry speech while accepting an award is just pointless self-indulgence unless the speaker is willing to take the extra steps of real engagement.

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