SAG Award speeches point to most political Oscars ever

There are always actors who use their moment in front of the world at the Oscars to broach politics, but judging by last night’s SAG Awards, this year’s event promises to be like no other.

Many of those receiving their goings from the Screen Actors Guild took the opportunity to slam Donald Trump’s extraordinary decision to suspend immigration from a host of predominantly Muslim countries.

Ashton Kutcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and the cast of Netflix hit ‘Stranger Things’ were among those calling for tolerance – and resistance – during their time on stage.

But the level of vitriol reserved for the presidency points towards what is most certainly going to be the most angry and political Oscars ever.

‘Veep’ star Dreyfus, in accepting the award for best actress in a comedy, said: “I want you all to know that I am the daughter of an immigrant. My father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France, and I’m an American patriot and I love this country.

“And because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes. And this immigrant ban is a blemish, and it is un-American.”

Scooping best actor in a comedy series for the US remake of ‘Shameless’, William H. Macy joked: “I would like to go against the stream this evening and thank President Trump for making Frank Gallagher seem so normal.”

John Lithgow, scoring best actor in a drama series for ‘The Crown’, added to his list of tributes ‘a great and underrated actress who somehow managed to speak my exact thoughts three weeks ago at another awards ceremony and that’s Meryl Streep’, referring to her barn-storming address at the Golden Globes earlier this month.

It seemed like almost every speech railed against the president, but it was David Harbour, who played policeman Jim Hopper in ‘Stranger Things’, who delivered the most simultaneously damning and rousing speech of all, which had the crowd on its feet.

Accepting the award for TV drama ensemble, he roared into the microphone: “When people feel broken, afraid and tired, they are not alone. We are united in that we are all human beings and we are all together on this horrible, painful, joyous, exciting and mysterious ride that is being alive.

“As we act, in the continuing narrative of Stranger Things, we 1983 mid-Westerners will repel bullies, we will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no homes, we will get past the lies, we will hunt monsters.

“And when we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy, and the casual violence of certain individuals and institutions we will, as per Chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the weak and disenfranchised and the marginalised, and we will do it all with soul, with heart, and with joy.”

The Oscars takes place on February 26, but it’s confirmed that it will already be missing the potential winners of the best foreign movie, the Iranian-French production ‘The Salesman’, the director and the stars of which will not be attending the ceremony.

Director Asghar Farhadi confirmed that he was joining lead actress Taraneh Alidoosti in boycotting the awards in protest.

“To humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity,” he said.

“I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations.”

Alidoosti tweeted last week that she would not be attending.

Trump signed an executive order on Friday passing a 90-day ban on citizens from the predominantly Muslim countries of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US.

It left many with valid green cards stranded abroad.

It doesn’t usually take much to persuade movie stars to speak out about injustice… so we’ll be in for a bumpy ride this year.

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