Johnny Carson once said, “In Hollywood, if you don’t have a shrink, people think you’re crazy.”
Johnny Carson once said, “In Hollywood, if you don’t have a shrink, people think you’re crazy.”
That quote seemed quite fitting to me last week after I stumbled onto the glitzy Golden Globes awards show while channel surfing. Hollywood elites dressed in tuxedoes and gowns sipped martinis as they anxiously waited to see if their names would be called to recognize them as Tinseltown’s best at pretending to be someone else.
Hollywood’s masquerade party was over the top with most actresses making a political statement by dressing in black to show solidarity against sexual harassment. I’m okay with that, other than the irony of how many of those dresses were split to the naval for the party and national TV audience.
As actress Meryl Streep trumpeted the cause I remembered her standing ovation just a few years ago for director Roman Polanski, a convicted child rapist. I guess it’s okay if one is a Hollywood insider.
The same goes for Oprah Winfrey, whose speech supercharged the room and garnered “Oprah for President!” calls across liberal media headlines the next morning. Then, pictures from years past surfaced of her kissing and sucking up to Harvey Weinstein — the man whose actions sparked the movement — while making her way to the top.
I thought of actor Matt Damon whose “Jason Bourne” film series grossed more than $100 million with its glorified violence, and how Damon spends his off camera time lobbying against gun control. I guess it’s okay as long as it’s making you money.
I thought of how many stars in that room are against building a wall to guard America’s security, yet when you see the dwellings of Hollywood stars you discover that most live in fortified homes surrounded by walls with sophisticated security and guards with guns.
For most of my life, Hollywood made movies glorifying violence, guns and killing, but somehow conservatives seem to get the blame each time mass murder occurs.
Perhaps what bugged me most was when Allison Janney won the Golden Globe for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Tonya Harding’s mother, LaVona Golden, in the movie “I, Tonya.” Janney praised Harding from the stage during her acceptance speech. Many surely remember Harding as the figure skater whose ex-but-live-in husband orchestrated a plot to injure rival skater Nancy Kerrigan’s knee during Olympic trials in Detroit in hopes of knocking Kerrigan out of competition.
Watching Harding deny any involvement in the devious plot during a “Good Morning America” interview the following morning reminded me of seeing O.J. Simpson deny killing his wife and Ron Goldman years ago. Each time, there was no question in my mind that neither was telling the truth.
Hollywood is making Harding the victim instead of Kerrigan, despite the fact that Harding pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder prosecution, was fined $160,000, given three years’ probation, assigned 500 hours of community service and was banned from competitive skating for life.
Forget about integrity — just keep buying those movie tickets.
Author Suzy Kassem writes, “Images can be bought or produced by any Hollywood producer or marketing team. Even kids know how to wear amazing costumes for Halloween. Always judge a man by the coloring of his heart and only his heart. Truth can be found in his record of actions, not intentions.”
I am of the opinion that Hollywood is awash in glittering intentions but devoid of heart and soul.
But what do I know?
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Contact Tom Treece at rttreece@aol.com.