Oscars 2011: The Anti-Social Network – Least-Political Least-Gay Ever?
The Oscars, the Academy Awards — whatever you like to call them — almost since their inception have been an opportunity for the greatest stars of the silver screen to share their socio-political views, offer a glimpse into their hearts, and possibly their souls. But not this year. Not at the 83rd annual Academy Awards, where there was little, if any mention of the political struggles in Wisconsin, Libya, Tunisia, or Egypt, the life and death struggles after New Zealand’s earthquake, or the civil rights struggles for equality in LGBT households across the country.
Who can forget Michael Moore’s 2003 anti-Bush Oscar acceptance speech that culminated with the highly critical — and highly criticized — “we live in a time when a man is sending us to war for fictitious reasons!” Was Moore’s statement the last, greatest political commentary at the Oscars? Has the Oscar activism prevalent in the ’60s and the ’70s passed forever?
Perhaps not, but this year’s Academy Awards were unacceptably bereft of loud shout-outs to the people giving their lives for liberty in the Middle East, unacceptably devoid of any mention of climate change, and contained just two hints each of union solidarity and same-sex spousal support.
Wally Pfister, who won “best cinematography” for “Inception,” staged a tiny though solid show of support to his union friends. “Much thanks to Emma Nolan, to Warner Brothers, to my fantastic union crew, and my family, Anna, Nick, Claire, and Mia and to my Mom and Dad. Thanks so much!â€
Did you catch it? There, wedged in-between “Warner Brothers” and “family.”
Does anyone know how many of the attendees and winners were union-workers at this year’s Oscars? Yup. Almost all. So much for solidarity.
Another “Inception” Oscar-winner, Gary Rizzo, (photo, right, in the center,) thanked “all the hard working boom operators and utility sound people that worked on the production crew. Union, of course.”
Rizzo’s Oscar co-winner, Lora Hirschberg (above, left, and left, left,) at least had the good sense to kiss her wife as she stood up to go on stage.
The only other same-sex mention came late in the show. “The King’s Speech” producer Iain Canning thanked his boyfriend, Ben.
One of the few other political statements at this year’s Oscars was Charles Ferguson’s impassioned statement: “Forgive me, I must start by pointing out that three years after our horrific financial crisis caused by financial fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail, and that’s wrong.”
Ferguson, director of “Inside Job,” won the Academy Award for “Best Documentary Feature,” along with Audrey Marrs.
And, yes, so what about gay rights?
Before you suggest that perhaps there weren’t many gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender winners this year as reason for scant mention of same-sex spouses or the fight for marriage equality, last year’s winner of the “Best Actress” award, Sandra Bullock, said upon receiving her Oscar, “There’s no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation, that makes us better than anyone else.â€
This year, there was no grand mention of marriage equality, the fight for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the fight against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), or the win against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). None.
Were last September’s anti-gay bullying teen suicides so far away from Hollywood that they’ve been forgotten?
Two years ago, thanks to the film “Milk” winning two Oscars, there were many mentions of marriage equality and much hope spoken to same-sex couples.
“To all of the gay and lesbian kids out there who have been told that they are less-than by their families or by the government or by their churches, you are beautiful and wonderful creatures,” said Dustin Lance Black, as he accepted the Oscar for “Best Original Screenplay” for “Milk.” “And very soon I promise you that you will have equal rights across this great nation of ours.”
That same year, Black’s co-star, Sean Penn, in his acceptance speech — commenting on California’s vote for Prop 8 — added, “I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone. And there are, and there are, these last two things. I’m very, very proud to live in a country that is willing to elect an elegant man president and a country who, for all its toughness, creates courageous artists.”
Maybe it was because “The Kids Are All Right” was nominated for four Oscars but won none, (there was no “gay gold,”) that there were no great, impassioned speeches for gay rights at this year’s Academy Awards.
Or maybe it was because, for the most part, this year’s winners, much like this year’s show, just didn’t have any passion in them.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner is under fire after releasing a video declaring that new allegations against him are false, yet he is “taking time to reflect” on a path forward.
Politico on Monday afternoon reported that a woman who dated Platner, Jenny Racicot, “says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections, an allegation Platner denies.”
“Racicot said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner,” Politico reported, “for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.”
In a video posted to social media eleven minutes after the Politico story dropped, Platner says, “I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.”
He said he and his supporters “were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change, in a focus on defeating Susan Collins.”
“So, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.”
“Those were the goals when we launched this campaign. And they remain my goals today.”
“Throughout it all, you never turned your back on me. And I will not turn my back on you now. Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition and see Susan Collins defeated. And we will use every tool at our disposal to do so.”
The Bulwark’s Tim Miller, a political commentator who served as the communications director for the Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign, blasted Platner.
“I’m sorry but ‘we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward’ is not an option on the table,” Miller wrote. “Either it’s false and you campaign with vigor or it’s true and you get out / apologize to everyone you let down.”
Journalist Ryan Grim, commenting on Platner’s video, noted that Platner “strongly suggests he is considering dropping out. Already Troy Jackson and Chellie Pingree, both gubernatorial candidates, are being kicked around in Maine circles as potential replacements.”
Several others, including Puck News’ Peter Hamby, predicted Platner will be dropping out.
Platner had postponed several campaign events before the Politico story was published.
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026
President Donald Trump is facing backlash after posting a video of children — including showing their unblurred faces — graduating from kindergarten, with some of the girls purportedly wearing hijabs.
“President Trump posted a captionless video of graduating kindergarteners on Truth Social on Monday, goading his supporters into verbally attacking little children simply for being Muslim,” The New Republic reported. “The clip is from Gateway STEM Academy, a majority-Black K-8 public charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota. It shows about 21 children in caps and gowns on stage singing a song together. Most of the girls are wearing hijabs.”
The original post of the video which Trump reposted reads: “Public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Every girl is in a hijab … in kindergarten.”
Trump did not add any comments. TNR called the post “Islamophobic, weird, and creepy,” while noting that the comments section of Trump’s post was filled with calls “by racist, xenophobic MAGA supporters” to “deport the children and ban hijabs.”
TNR also noted that it “should come as no surprise that Trump isn’t above attacking children who just learned how to read, but this post is still particularly discomforting—and will certainly contribute to the already potent level of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. and in Minnesota.”
Critics blasted Trump.
“There is something deeply unsettling about the president of the United States—the most powerful person in the world—going after kindergarten schoolchildren in Minnesota because they wore hijabs, as Trump has done this morning on his website,” The Bulwark’s Sam Stein wrote.
One social media commentator wrote, “Trump posted an unblurred video of more than a dozen Muslim kindergartners to Truth Social, exposing the children’s faces while targeting them for their religion.”
Another added, “Trump is a bigot. The president took to Truth Social to attack kindergarteners in hijabs. These are little kids. The president isn’t just a bigot, he’s also a coward.”
The original video was posted to the X social media platform in June.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) at the time commented, “If you are in a public school in America, you should be speaking english.”
Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump’s apparent efforts to delay releasing the $5.8 million civil judgment to E. Jean Carroll are being met with a warning by the journalist’s legal team, who suggest there could be a legal maneuver for Trump to employ to forgo paying the judgment in either of the two cases he lost.
According to The Guardian, on July 4, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Trump to release the $5.8 million judgment, which is in escrow, to Carroll by this coming Tuesday — or explain why he would not do so.
Carroll’s attorneys think Trump may be trying to buy time to mount another legal strategy, telling the judge that Trump’s request for an extension “appears to be little more than yet another play for time.”
“The case is separate from Trump’s appeal of a Manhattan civil jury’s 2024 award of $83.3m to Carroll for defamation,” The Guardian explains. “But her lawyers have suggested a legal scenario in which the president might seek to conjoin the cases and further delay payment of both.”
Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge) wrote, “We can only assume that defendant is seeking … to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying plaintiff presumably in connection with his forthcoming petition and motion for a rehearing.”
Trump’s former attorney, Justin Smith, in one of his final acts, wrote to the Supreme Court suggesting that his client would be appealing the $83.3 million civil judgment.
Smith argued that the Supreme Court “may wish to consider the petitions together,” given they involve the same parties.
The larger judgment case involves possible questions of presidential immunity, and that has Carroll’s attorneys concerned.
“A conjoined case, Carroll’s lawyers fear, could result in both judgments being wiped out,” The Guardian reports.
The president has also made clear he is no fan of Judge Kaplan, after the jurist made several rulings that “angered” Trump.
“What else can you expect from a Trump Hating, Clinton appointed judge, who went out of his way to make sure that the result was as negative as it could possible be,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in 2023, “speaking to, and in control of, a jury from an anti-Trump area which is probably the worst place in the US for me to get a fair ‘trial’.”
Image via Reuters
Platner Scorched Over ‘Taking Time’ Video After New Accusation
Trump Sparks Fury Online After Posting Unblurred Video of Muslim Kindergartners in Hijabs
One Legal Maneuver Threatens to Undo Everything E. Jean Carroll Won
Inside the Group Helping MAGA Voters Walk Away — And What Finally Pushed Them
