George Clooney got a little political while accepting the film award at the 51st Chaplin Awards at Lincoln Center.
Clooney, who has long been one of Hollywood’s most outspoken critics of Donald Trump, spoke darkly about this politically turbulent era.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was canceled over the weekend after a gunman tried to break into the annual fundraiser.
“You can’t be here on a night like tonight and ignore everything that’s going on in the world,” an emotional Clooney said from the stage. “While I disagree with everything this administration stands for, there is no place for the kind of violence we saw in Washington, D.C., two nights ago. There is no place in Minnesota for the kind of violence we saw against Alex Preti and Renee Good.”
Although Clooney did not explicitly criticize Trump, he alluded to the extremism that critics say has fueled the president’s rise.
“It seems like there is a fight to be won against hatred, corruption, brutality and violence,” Clooney continued. “This is a war against the very soul of this republic, because inciting hatred and violence is inheriting the wind.”
Clooney appealed for unity, concluding that “the question is simply, what should we do as citizens of this great country? And the answer lies within all of us, left, right and center, to forge a more perfect union, heal our wounds, and truly begin to make America great again.”
Sam Rockwell, Stephen Colbert, Julianna Margulies and John Turturro are among the presenters at the prestigious awards ceremony, held annually at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.
After his breakout role in “ER,” Clooney was praised for his contributions to film and television, including “Syriana,” “O Brother Where Are Too,” “Up in the Air,” and the “Ocean’s” trilogy. His latest film, “Jay Kelly,” was screened at the New York Film Festival sponsored by Film at Lincoln Center. In a lighter moment, Clooney mentioned “Jay Kelly,” about an aging movie star who is celebrated with a glitzy event not unlike the Chaplin Gala.
“It’s funny. I did this scene in a movie last year,” Clooney said. “What happens in real life is much more moving.”
Clooney’s work has recently expanded to the stage, making his Broadway debut in “Good Night and Good Luck,” a play based on the film of the same name. Clooney is also known for his humanitarian work, advocating for the First Amendment as well as campaigning for human rights in response to Sudan’s Darfur crisis.
In his speech, Clooney borrowed the famous words of Edward R. Murrow, Tony Award nominee for Broadway’s Good Night and Good Luck: “We will not walk in fear of one another. If we dig deep into our history and our doctrines and remember that we are not the descendants of fearful men, we will not be driven into an irrational age by fear.”
Murrow, of course, was a star anchor for CBS News. Clooney has been critical of conservative commentator Bari Weiss, who Paramount’s new owner, David Ellison, has appointed to head the news division. Colbert, another key member of CBS, was recently ousted from the late-night anchor chair and used his time in front of the microphone to delve into the network.
“It’s an emotional movie,” Colbert said of the 2005 film “Good Night and Good Luck,” which Clooney wrote and directed before it was adapted for the stage. “It’s now watched by millions of people around the world, and we hope it will be on CBS one day.”
