Oscar 2022: support for Ukrainians and criticism of the organizers

At the Oscar ceremony, a minute of silence was declared as a sign of support for the Ukrainian people. In the film academy's message, the organizers express support for the people of Ukraine, who during the conflict suffer from a lack of food, clean water, and medical care, and call for help in all possible ways.

“Resources are scarce, and together, as a global community, we can do more,” the official speech said.

Ukrainian-born actress Mila Kunis took the stage during the awards ceremony to express her admiration for Ukrainian courage, dedication and resilience. Let us remind you that earlier Mila Kunis, together with her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, donated $3 million to help Ukrainians.

As a sign of support, many cultural celebrities wore blue and yellow pins or ribbons on the red carpet. Among them are Benedict Cumberbatch, Jason Momoa, Francis Copolla, Diane Warren, Joe Walker and others. And some celebrities even chose outfits in the colors of the Ukrainian flag for the social event.

During the ceremony, world stars also expressed their support for Ukrainian refugees. Celebrities accessorized their red carpet looks with blue ribbons that read #WithRefugees. Among them are Paolo Sorrentino, Pedro Almodóvar, Yun Yoo-jung, Diane Warren, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Let us recall that on the eve of the ceremony, actor and producer Sean Penn called on the Oscar organizers to give the floor to President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. Actress Amy Schumer also joined his appeal. But the expected speech never came, which was one of the reasons for criticism of the award ceremony.

Ukrainians were also outraged by the fact that the film academy’s appeal did not report that it was Russia that carried out the attack on Ukraine, and that there is a war going on in the country, not a “conflict.” Despite the fact that the Oscars are often called too politicized, according to Ukrainians, this time the ceremony turned out to be too neat and restrained, and too little attention was paid to the invasion of our sovereign state.