Hollywood nixes parties, chooses to protest Trump travel ban

The annual Oscars party will be replaced by a protest against the Trump travel ban, organizers say.

Jeremy Zimmer, the head of United Talent Agency (UTA), said the organization will hold a rally in the US city of Los Angeles on Friday to highlight the deleterious effects of the US President Donald Trump travel ban, which has also impacted participants who planned to attend the 2017 Academy Awards.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like lobster rolls and handfuls of lamb chops as much as anyone, and more than most,” Zimmer said, adding that, “However, this seems like a moment for us, at UTA, to speak up and put our money where our mouth is.”

The Trump travel ban has led to outcry and rallies for Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who is nominated for an Academy Award for his film ‘The Salesman’.

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won the best foreign language Oscar in 2012 for his film ‘A Separation’ and has been nominated in the same category at next Sunday’s Academy Awards.

However, Farhadi earlier stated that he will not attend the ceremony because of Trump’s proposed ban on visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries.

In addition to the protest, UTA will also donate $250,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union and the International Rescue Committee.

Other Hollywood talent agencies have also followed suit in retaliation against the Trump ban, with WME IMG announcing this month that it was forming a political action committee.

Earlier this month, the academy’s president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, stated that the current political climate presented artists with a set of challenges not seen for more than half a century.

“There is a struggle globally today over artistic freedom that feels more urgent than at any time since the 1950s,” Isaacs said. “Art has no borders. Art has no language, and doesn’t belong to a single faith. No. The power of art is that it transcends all these things and strong societies don’t censor art; they celebrate it.”

The UTA client list includes famous Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Will Ferrell and Bryan Cranston as well as Asghar Farhadi.

The anti-Trump travel ban trend was set by famous actress Meryl Streep during a speech at the Golden Globes in January.

AI/AG