It was recently reported that Brad Pitt turned down a prestigious award at French Oscars, the Cesars.
But it turns out, he had an incredibly noble reason for doing so!
YouTube | Madame Figaro
Brad Pitt Refuses A Prestigious Award At French Oscars, A Bold Move
While the Cesars planned on awarding Brad Pitt at last Friday's ceremony, Brad felt compelled to decline.
It definitely sounds bizarre for an actor to turn down any prestigious recognition.
But he turned it down for a very important reason.
But I doubt it was a difficult decision for him to make under the circumstances.
Not to mention, he has already had a pretty successful year as far as awards go!
In January, he won a Golden Globe — Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood".
"I have to start by thanking the man himself, Mr. Quentin Tarantino," he said in his acceptance speech. "The man, the myth, the legend".
"For this experience, for the film — one I'll never forget," he went on. "I thank you, my brother. I really appreciate it."
"I also have to thank my partner in crime, LDC," he continued as the crowd laughed and applauded.
Then, he won an Academy Award – also for his role in "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood".
He, once again, showered Quinten Tarantino and Leonardo DiCaprio with praise in his acceptance speech, threw a few jokes in there, and dedicated his win to his kids.
"They told me I only have 45 seconds up here, which is 45 seconds more than what the Senate gave John Bolton this week," he said.
YouTube | ICONIC CINEMA
He then called Quinten "original" and "one of a kind," telling him that "the film industry would be a much drier place without you."
He then turns to Leo and says: "Leo: I‘ll ride on your coattails any day, man."
"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood... ain’t that the truth," he concluded.
Anyway, among those who were nominated for a French Oscar, was Roman Polanski.
YouTube | ZFF Zurich Film Festival
In case you aren't familiar with his story, he is a filmmaker and veteran, wanted in the US for raping a 13-year-old girl in the '70s.
In 1977, he was arrested and charged in Los Angeles with five offenses against Samantha Geimer, a 13-year-old girl.
YouTube | Fundacja OFF CAMERA
Rape, use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and giving a controlled substance to a minor.
So, as you can imagine, there were a substantial number who found it disturbing to see him top the nominations list.
Protestors stormed the theater where the ceremony was held, chanting, "Lock up Polanski!"
The protestors were eventually pushed back by police who fired tear gas.
YouTube | Onet News
France's culture minister, Franck Riester, warned against awarding Polanski, saying that it would be "symbolically bad given the stance we must take against sexual and sexist violence".
Unfortunately, against the advice of many, Polanski still walked away that night with two awards.
YouTube | Manufacturing Intellect
Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.
Adele Haenel, who was nominated for Best Actress for "Portrait of a Lady on Fire", stormed out of theater yelling "Shame!," after Polanski won his second award.
YouTube | Mediapart
Evidently, winning a second award put Adele over the edge.
So, we can only assume that Brad turned down the award for moral reasons.
It showed that he didn't agree with what the show was doing, and who it was giving awards to.
And good for him for taking a stand, however subtle, against something he doesn't agree with.
What do you think of Brad Pitt turning down an award at the Cesars because he didn't want to support an establishment that also supports Roman Polanski?
Leave a comment below!
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