George Clooney took a moment to get political while he was honored with Film at Lincoln Center’s 51st annual Chaplin award.
Clooney, who has long been one of Hollywood’s most outspoken critics of Donald Trump, struck a somber tone as he addressed these politically charged times.
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Over the weekend, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was evacuated after a gunman tried to storm the annual gala fundraiser event.
“I can’t be here on a night like tonight and just ignore everything that’s going on in the world,” an emotional Clooney said from the stage. “I disagree with everything that this administration stands for, but there’s no place for the kind of violence we saw two nights ago in Washington, D.C. Nor is there a room for this kind of violence in Minnesota with Alex Pretti or Renée Good.”
Clooney wasn’t explicitly critical of Trump, but he alluded to the extremism that critics argue has propelled the President’s ascent.
“It seems to me there’s a struggle that has to be won against hatred and corruption and cruelty and violence,” Clooney continued. “It’s a struggle for the very soul of this republic because to foment hate and violence is to inherit the wind.”
Clooney made a push for unity, concluding that “the question is simply, what are we, as citizens of this great country, to do? And it is that answer in all of us, left, right and center, to build a more perfect union, heal our wounds and begin to truly make America great again.”
Sam Rockwell, Stephen Colbert, Julianna Margulies and John Turturro were among the presenters of the honor, held each year at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.
Clooney was honored for his contributions to film and television, starting with his breakout role on “ER” and continuing with films such as “Syriana,” “O Brother Where Art Thou,” “Up in the Air” and the “Oceans” trilogy. His latest movie, “Jay Kelly,” played at the New York Film Festival, which is hosted by Film at Lincoln Center. In a lighter moment, Clooney referenced “Jay Kelly,” in which he portrays an aging movie star who is feted at a glitzy event that’s not dissimilar to the Chaplin Gala.
“It’s funny. I did this scene in a movie last year,” Clooney said. “It’s way more touching the way it happens in real life.”
Clooney’s work also recently extended to the stage, where he made his Broadway debut in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” a play based on his film of the same name. Clooney is also known for his humanitarian efforts, advocating for the First Amendment as well as the human-rights campaigns for the crises in Darfur in Sudan.
During his speech, Clooney borrowed a famous quote from Edward R. Murrow, whom he earned a Tony nomination for portraying in “Good Night and Good Luck” on Broadway: “We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men.”
Murrow, of course, was a star anchor at CBS News. Clooney has been critical of Bari Weiss, the conservative commentator whom Paramount’s new owner, David Ellison, installed at the top of the news division. Colbert, another staple of the CBS lineup who was recently ousted from the late-night anchor’s chair, used his time at the microphone to take a dig at the network.
“This is an inspiring film,” Colbert said of the 2005 movie, “Good Night and Good Luck,” which Clooney wrote and directed before it was adapted for the stage. “It has now been seen by millions around the world, and hopefully someday by CBS.”
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