At Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony, a spectacle brimming with ostentatious displays of political allegiance, a glaring silence echoed through the ballroom. Not a single Hollywood star used their platform to speak out in support of the anti-government protesters risking their lives in Iran.
Virtue Signalling and Selective Outrage
The red carpet was awash with symbolic gestures. Plenty of lapel pins called for a ceasefire in Gaza, despite an uneasy truce already being in place. A-listers like Mark Ruffalo and Wanda Sykes wore badges urging everyone to 'Be Good', a slogan of opposition linked to recent US immigration controversies.
Yet, despite the murder of more than 600 protesters in the uprising against Tehran's autocratic mullahs, with many young women killed in cold blood, none of the grinning actors and actresses had a word to say about it. This stark contrast lays bare a profound hypocrisy and cowardice, exposing how hollow their much-vaunted principles can be.
The Handmaid's Tale Irony and Left-Wing Complicity
The irony deepens when considering the success of The Handmaid's Tale, which scooped two prestigious awards at the 75th Golden Globes in 2018. The series, based on Margaret Atwood's novel, depicts a dystopia where women are enslaved. While the Left celebrated it as a critique of American fundamentalism, Atwood's inspiration was the oppression of women in Iran.
Copies of the book now circulate there in secret, and brave protesters have worn the red handmaid's robes as a symbol. Yet, the actors whose careers were supercharged by the show have been conspicuously silent on the very real struggle that inspired it.
The root of this silence is insidious. Hardline Left-wingers, in thrall to a certain political ideology, often sabotage the Iranian freedom movement. They refuse to see the Ayatollah and his brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as gangsters in religious robes. Celebrities fear being accused of Islamophobia, a term weaponised by the regime itself to shield its beliefs from criticism.
The Cost of Silence and a Cry for Freedom
This silence has dire consequences. With an internet blackout in Iran, raising global awareness is crucial. If a few celebrities had used the Golden Globes spotlight to back the protests, they could have done real good. Instead, their muteness enables the regime to continue its brutal suppression.
The political timidity extends to the UK. Figures like Labour leader Keir Starmer appear terrified of upsetting certain elements within their party, while some MPs fear denunciation from local Muslim leaders.
Meanwhile, in Iran, young idealists like 23-year-old Robina Aminian are being shot dead for demanding freedom. Her uncle described her as a courageous girl, thirsty for women's rights. Their defiant slogan, 'Zan, Zendegi, Azadi' (Women, Life, Freedom), is a cry the world should amplify. Those who call themselves feminists but stay silent in the face of this are complicit in the cowardice. The true feminist revolution is happening in Iran, and it deserves a voice.
