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Talent agency cancels Oscar party, donates to ACLU to protest Trump

10 Feb 2017 - 12:02


The Hill- A Hollywood talent agency is reportedly nixing its annual Oscar bash, instead donating the money to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and another non-profit organization.
United Talent Agency says in addition to the $250,000 it plans on giving to the ACLU and the International Rescue Committee, it’s holding a rally just two days ahead of the Feb. 26 Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

The rally is to “express the creative community’s growing concern with anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States,” according to Variety, which first reported the move.


“When fear and division get the better of a society, artists are among the first to feel the impact — and to denounce the ill winds,” United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer reportedly wrote in a memo to employees.

The agency, Zimmer said, “is speaking up for so many, including all artists and the vital global conversations they help lead.”

Donations have poured into the ACLU since it sued over an executive order signed by President Trump last month. The order temporarily bars citizens and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S., as well as temporarily suspending refugee entry.

The talent agency represents Oscar-nominated Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who announced last month that he won’t be attending the ceremony as a way to express his “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.”

Iran is among the countries affected by Trump's executive order, along with Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.


Story Code: 250479

News Link :
https://www.theiranproject.com/en/news/250479/talent-agency-cancels-oscar-party-donates-to-aclu-protest-trump

The Iran Project
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