Oscars extol diversity, but Trump does not escape scorn

On Hollywood's biggest night, actors, actresses and presenters at Sunday's Academy Awards extolled activism that is changing the industry they work in and the country they live in, sometimes with jabs at President Donald Trump and sometimes by expressing hope that the trails they are blazing are just the start.

"Get ready for some more 'Get Outs,' get ready for some more 'Black Panthers' and 'Wrinkle in Times,' director Lee Daniels said in a pre-recorded video featuring a number of stars pushing the industry to continue to pursue films that are diverse both in subjects and cast. "We’re here and we’re not going anywhere."


Several times throughout the evening, stars spoke of the #TimesUp movement, a cause jolted to life by the many women who went public with allegations of abuse by Harvey Weinstein. Actresses Ashley Judd, Mira Sorvino and Salma Hayek, all of whom went public with accusations about Weinstein spoke of changes sparked by the movement. Weinstein's history as a top fundraiser in the Democratic Party became a political football in Washington.

"The changes we are witnessing are being driven by the powerful sound of new voices, of different voices, of our voices, joining together the mighty chorus that is finally saying, time's up," Judd said.

Under a Trump presidency, few awards shows miss a moment to take jabs at Trump, and the 90th Academy Awards were no different. Host Jimmy Kimmel joked that the president called the first three-quarters of "Get Out" "the best movie this year."

Kimmel added: “We don’t make films like ‘Call Me By Your Name’ for money, we make them to upset Mike Pence,” he said of the Best Picture nominee about a romance between two men.

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Actress Lupita Nyong'o, along with actor-comedian Kumail Nanjiani, both immigrants, used their moment as presenters to voice their solidarity with Dreamers.

“And like everyone in this room, and everyone watching at home, we are 'dreamers.' Dreams are the foundation of Hollywood and dreams are the foundation of America," Nyong'o said.

During a performance of the Oscar-nominated song "Stand Up for Something," rapper Common commented on the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, slamming the National Rifle Association as "in God's way."

Former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, who won an Oscar for best animated short for his work in "Dear Basketball," cracked about Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who sparked a controversy when she said NBA star LeBron James should just “shut up and dribble,” when he criticized the president.

"As basketball players, we’re really supposed to shut up and dribble," Bryant said, "But I’m glad we do a little bit more than that."

Earlier, Kimmel quipped that Best Documentary winner "Icarus" proved that Russian President Vladimir Putin had not “rigged this competition.” The film details allegations of state-sanctioned doping by Russian athletes that spanned decades and included Olympic competitions like the 2014 Winter Games that were in Sochi, Russia.

“We hope that 'Icarus' is a wake-up call, yes about Russia, but about more than that about the importance of telling the truth,” director Bryan Fogel said. “Now, more than ever.”