Ever since the war in Ukraine broke out last year, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyi has been welcomed with open arms at national assemblies, award ceremonies and film festivals around the world.
Raser: – Should be imprisoned!
In the past, he has spoken at, among other things, the Grammy awards, the Golden Globe, and the film festival in Cannes.
But when it comes to one of the biggest awards of them all, the Oscars, the Ukrainian leader is met with a cold shoulder – again, writes Danes Extra Magazine.
Clinging to a married man
Zelenskyj was not allowed to speak at the Oscars – for the second year in a row.
Furthermore, the Danish newspaper writes that the president had allegedly hoped to focus on the war during the prestigious award ceremony. Exactly what he would have wanted to say is not known.
Ahead of last year’s awards, the actor and filmmaker called Sean Penn (62) to boycott the ceremony if Zelenskyj was not allowed to speak.
Where was Will?
Penn, who himself has won two Oscar statuettes for the films “Mystic River” (2003) and “Milk” (2008), also threatened to publicly melt the trophies in protest if Zelenskyj was not allowed to speak live during the award ceremony.
But not everyone is on board with giving Zelenskyj more airtime.
Could someone other than Putin be behind it?
According to sources, last year’s producer, Will Packer, will Variety expressed concern that Hollywood was showering Ukraine with attention only because the war victims are white. And is said to have expressed that Hollywood has ignored wars around the world, where the war victims are people of a different color.
Packer did not answer Varietys request for comment.
During Monday’s Oscar ceremony, Alexei Navalny’s wife, Julia, was on stage after the film “Navalny” won the award for best documentary.
– His career is not over
The documentary examines Navalny, who is a critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime, and the assassination attempt against him in 2020.
Julia used the opportunity to send both the world and her husband a strong message during the acceptance speech, writes the Finnish Evening newspaper.
– My husband is in prison only because he told the truth. My husband is in prison for defending democracy.
