In the spirit of film icon Charlie Chaplin, Jim Carrey used his seven minutes on stage at the British Academy Britannia Awards in Los Angeles to take on Donald Trump and the right-wing – while championing the likes of Colin Kaepernick and Christine Blasey Ford for standing strong in the face of repression.
IndieWire reports that Carrey was one of six actors that the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) convened to honor on Friday night, October 26, with British Artist of the Year Emilia Clarke, Marvel producer Kevin Feige, television star Damian Lewis, Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen, and Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett also receiving awards for excellence. He was by no means the only honoree to address the current political climate, with Blanchett going so far as to request that those filling the seats at the Beverly Hilton turn and hug their neighbors. But the 56-year-old Kidding star’s speech proved to be the most blistering, as he railed against the President and his cynical following in the strongest of terms.
“We need to be clear: Shamelessness is not, and will never be a superpower. It is the mark of a villain. Kidnapping children is not what great nations do,” Carrey said after opening his remarks by joking that he was happy the Charlie Chaplin Award for Excellence in Comedy he was being presented with wasn’t one he’d have to receive in the mail. The allusion to kidnappings was, of course, a reference to President Trump’s zero-tolerance policy that drew controversy earlier this year for its endeavor to separate families at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Carey would follow up on the dig by underscoring the psychological impact Trump’s rhetoric has had on his base, stating, “One half of America at this moment believes there is a sinister deep state diabolically plotting, to… what? Give them health care?”
Carrey’s BAFTA remarks marked the second time he’s publicly scorched the President over the potential dangers his populist style of leadership has presented over the course of his tenure in office. Just one day prior to the ceremony, the artistically gifted thespian made a bold statement on the recent MAGA Bomber developments by posting to Twitter with a painting of Trump biting down on a mail bomb. The photo’s caption, in part, read: “Make no mistake, these terrorists were encouraged and emboldened by the hate speech of Donald Trump. If you can’t see the clear menace of this man’s influence by now then you are a part of it.”
While the speech was heavy in its condemnation of the current administration and its supporters, Carrey made sure not to complete his moment at the podium without dedicating the award to those who’ve countered by taking up a fight similar to that of Chaplin – whom Carrey said “took on the American right wing of its day and its worst evils: hatred of immigrants, contempt of the truth, greed and the abuse of power.”
“To Sir Charles Chaplin who battled McCarthyism into exile, to Christopher Steele who tried to pull a thorn out of the paw of an ungrateful beast, to Christine Blasey Ford and to Colin Kaepernick who still stands for the anthem when the anthem stands for him, and to one of my friends, my good friend and one of the great artists of our time, Robert De Niro whose life was threatened this week,” he said.
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