Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican blasted conservatives on Monday's CNN Tonight for criticizing actress Patricia Arquette and others for their politicized acceptance speeches at the Oscars. Breznican actually went after host Don Lemon for stating that "winners and presenters bring their often-liberal-leaning political and social issues to the ceremony." Breznican asserted, "I can't really think of anything last night that was actually liberal."
When Lemon retorted that "conservatives often complain about the issues and about these types of shows being issue-oriented," the magazine's senior writer claimed that "that's because they don't like to be bothered by these issues. They...would rather not be confronted by them." Breznican also ran to the defense of Michael Moore later in the segment, after Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson cited the far-left director's anti-George W. Bush acceptance speech in 2003 as an example of "preachy" celebrities: [video below]
SHAUN ROBINSON, "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD": I remember being in the audience when Michael Moore won his Oscar, and...he got up there on stage, and in Michael Moore, typical fashion, he was very passionate. And a lot of people thought he came off as a little – you know, kind of, very angry-
DON LEMON: And it was preachy. They thought it was preachy – yeah-
ROBINSON: And I think they even played the music – right – and so-
ANTHONY BREZNICAN, SENIOR WRITER, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: And he was right!
The CNN anchor led the segment by asking Robinson about Arquette: "Patricia Arquette really brought down the house last night with her acceptance speech for best actress in a supporting role. She demanded equal pay for women. Do you think the Oscars is the right forum for this?" The Access Hollywood host defended the actress for using the platform to advance her cause, and pointed to a recent scandal in the movie industry:
ROBINSON: Well, yes, I do. And if it is relevant to the movie that they worked on – or if it's something personal that they have been through – I 'd like to hear what that personal connection is. And when Patricia Arquette talked about equal pay for women, what I thought about – first of all, she's playing this struggling mother in 'Boyhood.' But also, it brought to mind – remember, we just recently heard about those leaked Sony e-mails, in which they talked about the disparity in pay between the actresses and their male counterparts. And so, that is still fresh in the minds of many of the actresses that were sitting there in that audience. Yeah, I do think it is relevant.
Lemon then asked the same question of Breznican, who replied with his rejoinder to the host and his blast at conservatives:
LEMON: ...Do you think that this is – is this okay, even if it – you know, it comes at a cost to their own careers, Anthony?
BREZNICAN: Well, yeah, I think all anyone really wants is to be seen and to be heard – whether you're an actor who's up for an Academy Award, or just an ordinary person, and – and this is a remarkable platform – a unique platform. There's nothing else-
LEMON: Could it make a difference?
BREZNICAN: Well, sure. I mean, what's the point of being seen and heard if you have nothing to say? And I think the fact that we're discussing this right now shows that it makes a difference.
But, you know, Don, you – I don't want to call you out, but you introduced the segment by saying 'liberal-leaning' politics, and I can't really think of anything last night that was actually liberal-
LEMON: I said often – 'often left-leaning' – yeah, you're right-
BREZNICAN: Like, do conservatives believe women don't deserve – that they don't – but you don't think – do conservatives believe that women don't deserve equal pay? Do conservatives not believe in civil rights? Do conservatives have a problem with talking about depression and teenage suicide? These are issues that matter to these people, and, as Shaun said, they do tie into the stories they told. So why not take, out of your 45 seconds to speak to the world, a few seconds to say something that means something to you, and may mean something to someone else who doesn't have a voice?
LEMON: Well, I say that because conservatives often complain about the issues and about these types of shows being issue-oriented. They think it's the wrong place, and that was the reason that we said that....
BREZNICAN: I think that's because they don't like to be bothered by these issues. They rather would – would rather not be confronted by them, and that-
LEMON: Yeah-
BREZNICAN: I think that's a shame, because by talking about these things – they're not really Republican or Democrat or conservative or liberal issues. They're just issues that people have, and by talking about them, we shed a little light and we clear them away. That's how you solve societal problems. That's how you make a connection to another human.
The third guest during the panel discussion segment – former Washington Post reporter and editor-in-chief of The Wrap, Sharon Waxman – pointed out Hollywood's overall left-wing slant (with Breznican reacting in shock to her claim). However, like Breznican, Waxman couldn't understand why Arquette's remarks were controversial. Lemon replied to this by citing a decades-old example of an actor politicizing his Oscar win:
LEMON: I want to bring in Sharon Waxman, who is the editor-in-chief from The Wrap, and she can speak to this as well. We're having a conversation here about – you know, about values and issues being brought to these ceremonies. Sharon, you want to weigh-in on that? He said he doesn't think – Anthony says he doesn't think it's necessarily about liberal and conservative.
SHARON WAXMAN, EDITOR IN CHIEF, THE WRAP: I think there's an impression that these are liberal issues in general. I agree with Anthony that the issues that we're talking about from last night are – cut across a lot of topics. But certainly, if you're talking about rights for gay people; if you're talking about women's rights; those are absolutely perceived to be more Democratic issues than Republican issues. I certainly think if somebody from 'American Sniper' would have won, and stood up and said we really feel like America is the greatest country in the world, and we should support our veterans or something like that, then we might have had a different reaction on social media from the right-leaning public.
But I think there is a thing in which people in the public often find it annoying that celebrities use their celebrity to speak out on issues that are dear to their hearts. But I think that at the Oscars, there's something different, because in this instance, these were actors mainly talking about issues that related to the performances that they gave, and the reasons that they were being celebrated and being bestowed with these Oscars at the ceremony. So, you know, Patty Arquette plays a working class mom in 'Boyhood.' I think it's completely valid for her to bring up that issue, and why it should touch a nerve kind of surprises me.
LEMON: Let me jump in, because this is nothing new. I mean, 1973 – this is one moment that we can think of – Marlon Brando declined the Oscar for best actor in 'The Godfather.' And Sacheen Littlefeather attended the Oscars in his place, and said that he could not accept the award, as he was protesting Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans in film. So that was a political protest even back then. This is nothing new.
WAXMAN: Yeah-
BREZNICAN: And we're still talking about it forty years later.
