Stars, they’re just like us! They do their laundry (I mean, the laundry gets done), and eat dinner, and despise Donald Trump’s xenophobic travel bans.
Vitriol was alive and well at the Producers Guild of America awards ceremony on Saturday in Los Angeles. John Legend introduced a clip from La La Land with brief remarks acknowledging Trump’s vicious targeting of individuals based on their immigration status and religious beliefs. “Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump,” Legend said.
Some more PGA awards ceremony highlights from The Hollywood Reporter’s write-up:
While presenting the Stanley Kramer Award which honors a film that helps raise public awareness of important social issues to Loving, Thandie Newton said, “We may lose the small battles but we will win the big war.” Colin Firth, who was one of the film’s producers, accepted the award saying, “This is for Richard and Mildred Loving, the ACLU and for everyone whose families are being separated by the discrimination of others.”
Not all celebrities won awards last night, so thank god for Twitter.
Many stars urged action, mostly in the form of protests and petitions:
And Kim’s got the statistics.
After numerous outlets reported on Saturday that Iranian director Asghar Farhadi could be barred from attending the Academy Awards (his latest film, The Salesman, was nominated for best foreign film last week) if Trump’s travel ban is upheld, the Motion Picture Academy condemned the ban.
“The Academy celebrates achievement in the art of filmmaking, which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences. As supporters of filmmakers—and the human rights of all people—around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this year’s Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin.”
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay, also nominated this year for 13th, voiced support for Farhadi, as have many others.
- Olympian Mo Farah, a British citizen born in Somalia and training in the US, wrote an emotional letter about not being able to return home. [People]
- Princes William and Harry are commissioning a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, to memorialize her death 20 years ago. [Us Weekly]
- The stars are mourning the passing of John Hurt, a superlative actor and generous Elephant Man. [Page Six]
- James Bond screenwriters are not sure they’ll be able to come up with villains more evil than Donald Trump. [Vulture]
- Selena Gomez and The Weeknd beheld Michelangelo’s David in Florence. [Us Weekly]
- Emma Watson and Miles Teller were reportedly tapped as the original leads in La La Land, but lost their gigs for being “too demanding.” The actors are now pissed, you know, it being awards season and all. [Page Six]
- Mark Burnett was reportedly hissed at last night when he won the Producers Guild Award because WHERE ARE THE TAPES HUH? [Twitter]