It was a night of mixed emotions for the GLBTIQ community at the 81st Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood last month.
Sean Penn won the Best Actor Oscar for his heartfelt portrayal of American gay rights activist Harvey Milk. In his acceptance speech he joked about the Academy being ‘commie, homo-loving sons of guns’ for awarding him in the role and made his own plea for gay rights.
‘I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone,’ he said.
Dustin Lance Black won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Milk and also gave an emotional speech.
Raised in a strict Mormon household, Black told the audience how reading Harvey Milk’s life story had inspired him. ‘It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and then maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married,’ he said.
‘If Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he would want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are ‘less than’ by their churches, by the government or by their families: that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value. And that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you. And that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours. Thank you God, for giving us Harvey Milk.’
However, a sour note marred the ceremony when an unnamed group staged a protest along Sunset Boulevard condemning the late Heath Ledger for his role in Brokeback Mountain. The group waved placards reading ‘Heath in Hell’ and ‘Tinsel Town Fags’.
In a backstage interview given after accepting his award, Sean Penn commented on the protest, saying ‘I think if we get used to dismissing these kind of comments rather than commenting on them, we’ll be better off. It’s meaningless jibberish.’ he said.
He then expressed sadness at the ‘culture of ignorance that has bred this kind of hateful expression, that these people have their signs outside essentially telling you that you’re less than human.’
The protest didn’t make a lick of difference to the results with Heath Ledger winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Dark Knight. His Perth family accepted the award on his behalf saying that they will eventually pass it on to Matilda, Heath’s daughter.
