Why politics makes Oscars gold
Screw what you're wearing, or who you bring as your date, when it comes to the Oscars, it's all about which political issues you're bringing to the table. Thanking your manager and your parents isn't enough - you need to champion a cause to really be taken seriously. We look back at the best political speeches from Oscars past…
PA PhotosSacheen Little Feather, 1973
At the 45th Academy Awards, Marlon Brando declined his Best Actor award for The Godfather and sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his place, to protest the treatment of American Indians by the film industry.
Getty ImagesVanessa Redgrave, 1978
As a supporter of a Palestinian group, there had been a campaign against Redgrave in the run up to the Oscars. Refusing to back down, she called her detractors “Zionist hoodlums” while accepting her Best Supporting Actress for Julia.
PA PhotosTom Hanks, 1994
Accepting the Best Actor award for his portrayal of a man dying of AIDS in Philadelphia, Hanks accidentally outed his high school drama teacher.
PA PhotosHalle Berry, 2002
Halle Berry was the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress (for her performance in Monster’s Ball). An emotional Berry said: "This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It's for the women that stand beside me - Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett and it's for every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.”
Getty ImagesSean Penn, 2009
Defending LGBT rights as he accepted the Best Actor award for Milk (a biopic of gay rights' campaigner Harvey Milk), he said: "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.”
PA PhotosMichael Moore, 2012
It wasn't much of a surprise that the Bowling For Columbine filmmaker was going to mouth off. Winning Best Documentary Feature, he completely slated George Bush: “We are against this war Mr. Bush, shame on you Mr. Bush, shame on you..."
Getty ImagesJared Leto, 2014
Winning Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club, Leto expressed his sincere solidarity for victims of AIDS in places like Ukraine and Venezuela."this is for the 36 million people who have lost the battle to aids, and to those of you out there who have ever felt injustice because of who you are or who you love, tonight I stand in here in front of the world, with you and for you, thank you and goodnight.”
Getty ImagesJohn Legend, 2015
John Legend and Common won the award for Best Original Song - Legend focussed on racial inequality in his acceptance speech, saying: "There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850..."
Getty ImagesAlejandro Inarritu, 2015
The two-time Oscar winning director spoke out about the Mexican government, accepting his award for Best Director for Birdman: "I pray that we can build the government that we deserve."
PAPatricia Arquette, 2015
Accepting the Best Supporting Actress award for Boyhood, she raised the issue of the gender pay gap, saying: “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all.” Meryl Streep led the applause.
Getty ImagesChris Rock, 2016
Not an acceptance speech per se - but as the host for the night, the comedian absolutely slayed the #OscarsSoWhite issue. For example: "This year, the In Memoriam package is just going to be black people who were shot on their way to the movies."
PA PhotosLeonardo Dicaprio, 2016
Given how long he waited to clutch that golden statuette, Leo would have been forgiven for making his speech all 'me me me' - but he used the opportunity to highlight climate change issues, saying: “Making The Revenant was about the relationship between man and nature [...] Climate change is real. It’s happening right now.”
