Iran star boycotts Oscars over Trump row

The Iranian actress Taraneh Alidousti says that she would boycott the Academy Awards ceremony to protest President Trump’s announcement to ban visas for citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Co-star of the film ‘The Salesman’, Alidousti stated the boycott on Thursday after Trump said he would issue an executive order to suspend immigration for at least 30 days for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

“Trump’s visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won’t attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest,” Alidoosti wrote on her social media page.

She said that she would not take part at the Oscars ceremony on February 26 even if the ban did not affect her ability to get a visa.

“I decided not to go even if I could, because it hurts me deeply to see ordinary people of my country being rejected for what might be their legal right to have access to their children abroad or to their school classes as students,” the Iranian actress noted.

“Many people have urgent medical cases... I’m sure all of them are not just going through the ordeal for a fun vacation; they might have a more serious case,” Alidousti said.

“I’m sure the United States has also benefited many times from Iranian immigrants and people who have worked there and served that country. So it’s not acceptable to me to respect a state that does not respect the people of my country,” she added.

The National Board of Review in New York has recently selected ‘The Salesman’ as the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.

The film tells the story of a young couple named Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Alidousti), who move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. However, an incident linked to the previous tenant dramatically changes their life.

As Iran’s submission to the 89th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category, ‘The Salesman’ has already won double awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

MG/AI