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In 2006, the Oscars secretly pressured Heath Ledger to make fun of gay people. He wasn't having it.

Jake Gyllenhaal shared the story of his late Brokeback Mountain co-star's kindness.

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Fájl:Heath Ledger.jpg – Wikipédia

Heath Ledger stayed true to his convictions. He stood up for what he believed in, and it didn't matter if it was in a casual conversation with a friend, on a press junket, or at the Oscars. In a resurfaced video making the rounds, Heath was on the Brokeback Mountain press tour and was asked by an interviewer, "How do you respond to people who suggest this is disgusting?"

Heath seems initially taken aback by the question. He ponders for a moment and then says, "Well, I think it's immature, for one. I think it's an incredible shame that people go out of their way to voice their disgust or negative opinions about the way two people wish to love one another."

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He then expresses how some might be focusing on the wrong things. "At least voice your opinions on how two people share hate and violence and anger towards each other. Isn't that more important? I think so."

Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 film starring Ledger alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, about two sheep herders in Wyoming who find love with one another. It was adapted from a short story by Annie Proulx, originally published in The New Yorker in 1997.

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In discussing the movie itself (which won three Academy Awards in 2006, including Best Director for Ang Lee, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score), Heath explained, "It's obviously about two men in love. It's gay-themed and easily labeled. The pure fact of it is, it transcends labels. It's the story of two human beings—two souls who are in love."

He truly wanted to make sure that audiences (including the press) understood the entire point of the film. "We're showing that love between two men is just as infectious and emotional and strong and pure as it is with heterosexual love."

While this clip has popped up many times over the years, an interview with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2020 definitively confirmed how important these themes were to Heath. In an interview with Another Man magazine, he discusses how the whole production came together. “There are things you’re chosen for—a quality, an essence—and Ang did that. And it’s still a mystery to me. And something that Heath and I shared: that it was a mystery to us at the time.”

Jake emphasized that Heath put his foot down when some writers of the Oscars telecast wanted to make light of Brokeback Mountain. "I mean, I remember they wanted to do an opening for the Academy Awards that year that was sort of joking about it. And Heath refused. I was sort of at the time, 'Oh, okay... Whatever.' I'm always like, 'It's all in good fun.' And Heath said, 'It's not a joke to me. I don't want to make any jokes about it.'"

According to WION News, Jake reminisced, "That's the thing I loved about Heath. He would never joke. Someone wanted to make a joke about the story or whatever, he was like, 'No. This is about love. Like, that's it, man.'"

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Sacheen Littlefeather, who famously appeared in Marlon Brando's place at Oscars, has passed away

'It feels like the sacred circle is completing itself before I go in this life.'

via Wikimedia Commons

Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather.

A little more than two weeks after receiving a formal apology from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the abuse she suffered at the 1973 Academy Awards, Native American rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather has died at age 75.

Littlefeather is a Native American civil rights activist born to an Apache and Yaqui father and a European American mother. Littlefeather made history at the 1973 Academy Awards by forcing Hollywood and America to confront its mistreatment of Native Americans by rejecting Brando's award on his behalf.

Dressed in traditional clothing, she explained that Brando "very regretfully cannot accept this generous award, the reasons for this being … the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee."

Littlefeather was courteous and nonconfrontational in her brief speech, but still wound up the target of jokes that night. “I don’t know if I should present this award on behalf of all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford westerns over the years,” Clint Eastwood said later in the evening while presenting the award for best picture. Presenting best actress, Raquel Welch cracked: “I hope they haven’t got a cause.”

Littlefeather later said that John Wayne attempted to assault her backstage.

"A lot of people were making money off of that racism of the Hollywood Indian," Littlefeather told KQED. "Of course, they’re going to boo. They don't want their evening interrupted."

Three months later, Brando explained his reasoning for rejecting the award on "The Dick Cavett Show."

"I felt there was an opportunity," Brando told Cavett. "Since the American Indian hasn't been able to have his voice heard anywhere in the history of the United States, I thought it was a marvelous opportunity to voice his opinion to 85 million people. I felt that he had a right to, in view of what Hollywood has done to him."

Nearly 50 years after the incident, the Academy issued a formal apology this past August.

"The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified," former Academy President David Rubin wrote in a letter to Littlefeather, CNN reported. "The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration."

On September 17, the Academy hosted an event honoring Littlefeather at the David Geffen Theater for more than 800 people, nearly half of which are Native American. Littlefeather asked them to stand before she formally accepted the apology.

“I am here accepting this apology, not only for me alone but as acknowledgment, knowing that it was not only for me, but for all of our nations that also need to hear and deserve this apology tonight,” she addressed the crowd. “Look at our people. Look at each other and be proud that we stand as survivors, all of us. Please, when I’m gone, always be reminded that whenever you stand for your truth, you will be keeping my voice, and the voices of our nations, and our people, alive.”

Littlefeather was also part of the Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969 and began acting with San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater in the early ’70s. Her career in show business was derailed after the Oscars controversy and she claims she was “red-listed” from the business.

But that didn’t stop her from being a vocal activist for Native American rights throughout the rest of her life. She also worked with Greenpeace and served on the board of directors for the American Indian AIDS Institute of San Francisco.

Littlefeather’s niece confirmed that she died peacefully from breast cancer with her loved ones at her home in Marin County, California, on Sunday, October 2. The Academy’s apology in the final months of her life brought a sense of closure.

“It feels like the sacred circle is completing itself before I go in this life,” Littlefeather told the Academy. “It feels like a big cleanse, if you will, of mind, body, and spirit, and of heart. It feels that the truth will be known. And it feels like the creator is being good to me.”

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Academy apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather for 'abuse' after she refused Marlon Brando's Oscar

"For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged."

via Wikimedia Commons and Wikimedia Commons

Marlon Brando and Sacheen Littlefeather.

Nearly 50 years after Sacheen Littlefeather endured boos and abusive jokes at the Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is issuing a formal apology. In 1973, Littlefeather refused Marlon Brando's Best Actor Oscar on his behalf for his iconic role in “The Godfather” at the ceremony to protest the film industry’s treatment of Native Americans.

She explained that Brando "very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award, the reasons for this being … the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee."

Littlefeather is a Native American civil rights activist who was born to a Native American (Apache and Yaqui) father and a European American mother.

The unexpected surprise was greeted with a mixture of applause and boos from the audience and would be the butt of jokes told by presenters, including Clint Eastwood. Littlefeather later said that John Wayne attempted to assault her backstage.

"A lot of people were making money off of that racism of the Hollywood Indian," Littlefeather told KQED. "Of course, they’re going to boo. They don't want their evening interrupted."

The Academy is apologizing for what she endured with “an evening of conversation, reflection, healing, and celebration with Littlefeather” on September 17, 2022, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, it announced on its blog.

"The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified," former Academy president David Rubin wrote in a letter to Littlefeather, CNN reports. "The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration."

Littlefeather said in a statement that the event is "a dream come true" and joked that “we Indians are very patient people—it's only been 50 years! We need to keep our sense of humor about this at all times. It's our method of survival."

It’s sure to be a cathartic evening for Littlefeather.

"People don't realize what my experience was. They had absolutely no idea—none—of what my experience was, what I went through," Littlefeather told the Academy. "And now, I'm here to tell my story the way that it was from my point of view, from my experience."

“It feels like the sacred circle is completing itself before I go in this life,” Littlefeather, 75, added. “It feels like a big cleanse, if you will, of mind, body, and spirit, and of heart. It feels that the truth will be known. And it feels like the creator is being good to me.”

Brando passed away in 2014 but would probably be excited for Littlefeather’s long overdue apology. Three months after she refused the award on his behalf, he explained his rationale for rejecting the Oscar on “The Dick Cavett Show.” The interview was historic because Brando was known for avoiding the media, it was also far ahead of its time given the climate in Hollywood surrounding people of color in 1973.

"I felt that there was an opportunity," Brando calmly told Cavett about the awards ceremony. "Since the American Indian hasn't been able to have his voice heard anywhere in the history of the United States, I felt that it was a marvelous opportunity for an Indian to be able to voice his opinion to 85 million people, I guess that was the number. I felt that he had a right to, in view of what Hollywood has done to him."

“The Godfather” star then expanded his thoughts on representation to include all people of color.

“I don't think people realize what the motion picture industry has done to the American Indian, and as a matter of fact, all ethnic groups. All minorities. All non-whites,” he said. “So when someone makes a protest of some kind and says, 'No, please don't present the Chinese this way.' ... On this network, you can see silly renditions of human behavior. The leering Filipino houseboy, the wily Japanese or the kook or the gook. The idiot Black man, the stupid Indian. It goes on and on and on, and people actually don't realize how deeply these people are injured by seeing themselves represented—not the adults, who are already inured to that kind of pain and pressure, but the children. Indian children, seeing Indians represented as savage, as ugly, as nasty, vicious, treacherous, drunken—they grow up only with a negative image of themselves, and it lasts a lifetime.”

Hollywood is still far from ideal when it comes to being truly representative of America at large. But it is miles ahead of where it was in 1973 when the film industry, including some of its biggest stars, was outwardly hostile toward the idea of representation.

The Academy’s public apology should give some closure to Littlefeather and provide hope to countless others. Because when an industry honestly confronts its past mistakes, it makes a promise that it’ll be less likely to commit them in the future.


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Lady Gaga's moment with Liza Minnelli was a beautiful example of caring with dignity

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Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli shared a touching moment onstage at the Oscars.

Welp, despite dwindling ratings over the past several years, the 2022 Academy Awards turned out to be a highly talked-about event. Unfortunately, the public's attention has been sucked into feverish furor over the Chris Rock-Will Smith fiasco, which has overshadowed some truly lovely moments.

One of those moments came near the end of the show, during the announcement of the winner of the coveted "Best Picture" award. Legendary actress Liza Minnelli joined Lady Gaga to announce the nominees and the winning film. Minnelli, 76, sat in a wheelchair while Gaga stood beside her and introduced her, with Minnelli relishing the welcoming cheers from the crowd.

As she was introducing the category and nominees, Minnelli appeared to get a little lost, and Gaga helped her out. At one point, the mic picked up Gaga leaning over and quietly telling Minnelli, "I got you," with Minnelli responding, "I know."

Lady Gaga's genuine love for the elders in the showbiz community shows in the care she shows them. Far from being patronizing or infantilizing, Gaga beautifully balances being helpful with respecting and honoring their dignity.

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People loved the exchange and the way the love and admiration flowed between the two women.

It also prompted someone to share a video of when the pair first met one another in 2010. They were both fans of each other and seeing their first interaction is just delightful.

Lady Gaga's easy rapport with show business legends, from her famously adoring relationship with Tony Bennett to her Oscars presentation with Liza Minnelli, has become a bit of a legacy for her.

And it's not just Hollywood greats that she's managed to connect with. Check out this meeting between her and British soap opera star June Brown in 2013 when Brown was in her late 80s. (She is still alive at 95, by the way.) Their instant connection was delightful and hilarious.

Lady Gaga's moment with Liza Minnelli was only a small part of her Oscars evening. Gaga helped co-host the 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in Elton John's absence while he's on tour. The event raised a whopping $8.6 million to help end the AIDS epidemic.

“I’m so grateful to my friends Lady Gaga, Billy Porter and Eric McCormack for joining David in hosting such an incredible evening, and of course Brandi Carlile for bringing down the house with an electrifying performance,” Sir Elton John said in a statement. “Most of all, I’m thankful to all who attended and participated to ensure that we can continue our lifesaving work to end AIDS. I could feel the love and support all the way from Lincoln, Nebraska!”

Gaga also showed that she's as comfortable around the youngsters as she is around the elders, as she posed for photos with Elton John and David Furnish's sons, Zachary and Elijah. She is the boys' godmother (or "Gagamother," as they call her).

Elton John AIDS Foundation

Every time we turn around, we're reminded that it's Gaga's world, and we're just living in it.

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