Don’t hit the mute button on Oscars’ political rants
Typically it’s a good idea to wait until something actually happens to complain about it.
But where’s the fun in that? That seems to be the feeling many people have when it comes to potential political protest at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
As a reminder: THE SHOW HASN’T HAPPENED YET.
Yet some readers and social-media acquaintances have told me already that they will be skipping the Oscars telecast because they don’t want to listen to those Commie, liberal, Trump-hating Hollywood elites rail against the president. Why not? You may not agree with what celebrities say when they go on a rant, but it’s certainly their right to do so.
“I don’t like this attitude that just because someone’s a celebrity, their right of free speech is taken away,” Michael De Luca, who is co-producing the broadcast, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Besides, it’s more entertaining than listening to someone thank their agent.
The impetus for this worry, of course, is Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes laceration of President Donald Trump (without naming him), which prompted Trump to respond on Twitter (naturally) that she was overrated. (Note: Streep has been nominated for the Oscar 20 times, more than any other actor. But who’s counting?)
Political protests aren’t new to the Academy Awards.
In 1973, Marlon Brando sent activist Sacheen Littlefeather to the ceremony to decline his best-actor Oscar in protest of the treatment of Native Americans.
Michael Moore railed against the U.S. invasion of Iraq during the 2003 broadcast, after winning for best documentary for “Bowling for Columbine.”
“We are against this war, Mr. Bush,” he said. “Shame on you.”
Those you may remember.
But do you recall John Irving thanking Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Rights League after winning for best adapted screenplay for “The Cider House Rules”?
Or director Charles Ferguson, after winning best documentary feature for “Inside Job,” complaining that “not a single financial executive has gone to jail, and that’s wrong”?
Or Jared Leto, winning best supporting actor for “Dallas Buyers Club,” giving a shout-out to protesters in Ukraine and Venezuela?
Perhaps not. The point is, the show goes on, and despite declining ratings, the Oscars broadcast remains one of TV’s biggest nights.
Host Jimmy Kimmel doubtless will talk about Trump.
Come Monday, some people may say “Wow, I can’t believe Viola Davis said that,” or “Why didn’t Casey Affleck make some kind of statement?”
But more people will talk about how many awards “La La Land” won (or didn’t), or how “Moonlight” was robbed (or wasn’t).
In the end, it’s still a show that rewards, sort of, the best movies had to offer in 2016, and who says what won’t change that.
Celebrities are perfectly free to speak their mind whenever they want, about whatever they want.
And we are perfectly free to embrace or ignore them.
I love Bruce Springsteen’s music, but I don’t rely on him to tell me whom to vote for.
Watch the show. Enjoy it. Or don’t. Cheer on your favorites. Complain about the length. Gape at the fashion. Win your pool.
But know that we live in a time when people — famous or not — on either side of the political aisle speak their mind, and for the next four years nothing is going to change that.