As Hollywood heads into the heart of awards season — a three-month orgy of frothy self-celebration and pop-culture glamour — celebrities and their handlers have a serious decision to make: What, if anything, will they say about Israel? Hamas war.
Movie stars have increasingly become willing, even determined, to use awards ceremonies like the Golden Globes, scheduled for Sunday on CBS, to draw attention to progressive issues and concerns. In recent years, winners such as Meryl Streep, Russell Crowe, and Michelle Williams have incorporated topics such as sexual harassment, the global refugee crisis, abortion rights, Trumpism, climate change, Black Lives Matter, veganism, and the Ukraine war into their acceptance speeches.
Viewers on both political sides sometimes bristle at what they view as elitist lectures. But in the ballrooms of Los Angeles, where such awards are given out and such speeches are made, the response is usually uniform praise. Listeners dressed in high fashion jump to their feet to give applause.
The war between Israel and Hamas is much more complex.
“It’s a very insidious topic — there’s no response, especially in the vocal uproar on the red carpet, or in the brash acceptance speech, that wouldn’t offend someone,” said Martin Kaplan, who runs the Norman Lear Entertainment Center. and Media and Society at the University of Southern California. “Add alcohol to the mix, as is often the case at these dinner parties, and what could go wrong?”
Reactions to the conflict have rocked Hollywood, where there is a large Jewish presence, along with many other parts of America. On the one hand, there is enthusiastic support for Israel. On the other hand, there are those who view the Palestinian issue as an extension of the racial and social justice movements that swept the United States in the summer of 2020.
Stars were fired from films. Agencies have dropped clients; Agents have dropped agents. Friendships were broken, and people accused each other of hypocrisy and betrayal.
Before the Golden Globes, which kick off awards season in earnest, some publicists and agents are advising celebrity clients not to say anything about the war between Israel and Hamas. One carelessly chosen word could torpedo their Oscar hopes, and perhaps even their career. One longtime Hollywood publicist, who has clients in this year’s Oscar race, summed up her advice on the subject as “run for the hills.” She added that two A-list agents walk red carpets but skip interviews. Big risk.
Others worry that the silence itself is a political message. After the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, most Hollywood unions were quick to condemn the violence. But one of the leading unions, the Writers Guild of America, refused to issue a statement and stood by its decision in the face of massive backlash from hundreds of its members.
Some of Hollywood’s leading communications firms, including Rogers & Cowan PMK and ID PR, have offered yellow ribbons to wear in support of hostages in Gaza. They see the effort, run in part by Ashley Margolis, who runs an entertainment and fashion marketing company called A-List, as apolitical, though some might disagree.
“Wearing a symbolic yellow ribbon in support of the 136 women, children and men – Israelis and Americans – who were brutally kidnapped by terrorists and remain in captivity is not only powerfully humanitarian, and certainly non-controversial, but camera-ready,” said Melissa Zuckerman, human rights activist. the managing partner of the major communications group said in an email.
The post-Golden Globes parade will include the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards and the British Academy Film Awards, before culminating on March 10 with the Academy Awards. This year, the Emmy Awards and Governors Awards, which were delayed due to the strike, were also pressed.
Most of these festivals come with red carpets lined with reporters. Mark Malkin, a senior editor at Variety and co-host of Sunday’s official Golden Globes pre-show, said stars should expect to be asked about the war between Israel and Hamas. “If they post about it on Instagram or sign an open letter, it’s fair game,” he said.
They appear to include Israeli-born actress Natalie Portman, nominated for May December, who posted on social media expressing horror at the Hamas attack, and Jeffrey Wright, nominated for American Fiction, who questioned the wisdom of revenge. Israeli. Bradley Cooper, who was nominated multiple times for “Maestro,” signed two public letters, one about the hostages that urged them to “continue the fight for their freedom” and another calling for “immediate calm and ceasefire.”
The spokeswoman for these candidates declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries.
The next self-congratulatory rally could certainly go off without a hitch, as celebrities speak knowledgeably about this complex and divisive topic. But the odds are not in Hollywood’s favor. The film industry has a long, if not proud, history of deaf behavior.
In 2008, Sharon Stone, walking the red carpet, set off a media frenzy when she said that the earthquake in China, which left 88,000 dead or missing, might have been karmic retaliation for the country’s handling of the Tibet issue. In 2022, living rooms across America were astonished when, moments after Will Smith attacked Chris Rock on the Oscars stage, guests inside the theater gave Mr. Smith a standing ovation following his Best Actor acceptance speech.
Awards shows used to include an incendiary speech here, a political outcry there — whether it was sending Native American activist Marlon Brando to reject the 1973 Best Actor Oscar or Vanessa Redgrave’s denunciation of “Zionist thugs” in 1978. However, for the most part Sometimes, the stars worked to be stars, worked their magic and said nothing that might alienate a single ticket buyer.
That has changed, and the Golden Globes have led the way.
In 2017, Ms. Streep stormed off President-elect Donald J. Trump from the Globe Theater. The following year, the Globe Awards became a virtual rally for the Time’s Up movement, with actresses wearing black to protest sexual harassment and Oprah Winfrey giving a scathing speech. In 2020, Ms Williams made an impassioned plea for abortion rights, while Mr Crowe drew attention to climate change and Australia’s bushfire crisis.
Last year, the Globes gave a live broadcast to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who gave a speech about his country’s war with Russia.
Representatives for the Globes did not respond to inquiries about whether this year’s show would turn political.
Awards broadcast producers say research, compiled mainly from Nielsen, suggests that most viewers hate it when celebrities turn their trip to the stage into a political platform. An Oscars producer recently said that an analysis of minute-by-minute ratings suggested that “large swaths” of people turned off their TVs when celebrities started voicing their opinions on politics. He spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential metrics.
Comedian Ricky Gervais, who is hosting the Globe Awards in 2020, used part of his monologue to tell Hollywood that it is testing the public’s tolerance for mixing serious issues with Bacchanalia awards.
“You are in no position to lecture the public about anything, you know nothing about the real world,” Gervais said, adding: “If you win, come and accept your little prize, and thank your agent and your God.” And get off the stage.