It was the very least they may do, and so they couldn’t even handle that.
Celebrities had the right likelihood to unite America and decry the assault on free speech that left conservative hero Charlie Kirk useless.
Kirk’s homicide befell days earlier than Sunday’s Emmys telecast. That gave Hollywood, Inc. the second to do one thing good, form and righteous. They usually would possibly even lure a couple of Heartland viewers again to the telecast.
They may have averted politics totally and centered on the loss of life of a younger father and husband who tried to carry debate again to the tradition. He was a First Modification warrior, the precept that lets each star within the Hollywood galaxy shine.
The celebrities didn’t need to agree with Kirk’s worldview. Simply his humanity. They usually collectively failed.
Earlier than tonight’s sport we held a second of silence in memoriam of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk based the youth activist group “Turning Level USA” and had change into a fixture on school campuses. Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two kids, was 31 years outdated. pic.twitter.com/Fz5xPlmdu0
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 10, 2025
The New York Yankees group honored Kirk, as did most NFL groups yesterday. So did different teams and organizations, not essentially on the proper aspect of the aisle, both.
Even Coldplay, hardly a bastion of right-thinking views, shared heat ideas for Kirk’s widow and younger kids.
Not Hollywood. It shouldn’t come as a shock.
As actor/activist Michael Rapaport reminded us final 12 months, the celebs haven’t even name-checked the hostages nonetheless being saved alive, barely, in Hamas’ custody throughout awards telecasts. Present after present, speech after speech, and people hostages stay off limits.
But a number of stars raged towards Israel each throughout the telecast and at press-related occasions. Far-Left “Hacks” co-star Hannah Einbinder led the cost, cursing out ICE and shouting, “free Palestine” whereas accepting an award for Greatest Supporting Actress in a comedy sequence.
(It’s the identical actress who doubled down on the “very advantageous individuals” hoax earlier this 12 months.)
She expanded on her pro-Palestinian remarks off stage, ignoring how the Palestinians would deal with an brazenly LGBTQ star like herself.
Inconvenient.
To not be outdone, Oscar-winner Javier Bardem spoke out in favor of the Palestinian trigger with out mentioning Oct. 7 or the continued hostage disaster. Each stars, together with almost 4,000 others, have boycotted Israeli-backed movie teams shifting ahead for being part of a “genocide.”
Even when one believes their specious argument, they may nonetheless decry the hostage disaster and raging antisemitism throughout the nation.
They refused to do something of the kind. Once more.
Emmys host Nate Bargatze, the present clear comedy king, dutifully averted politics in his monologue. It’s not his model, for starters, and it’s a refreshing change from earlier hosts.
He nonetheless may have honored Kirk’s legacy as a non secular chief and free speech large. As an alternative, he stayed silent.
There are a couple of stars who refuse to tow the morally warped line.
Jerry Seinfeld aggressively referred to as out the “free Palestine” motion, slamming it as antisemitic at its core. Different artists, like Rapaport, Debra Messing, John Ondrasik and David Schwimmer, gained’t let Hamas or right now’s antisemites off the hook.
They’re the intense exceptions.
The professional-Palestinian motion is the trigger du jour in Hollywood. The celebrities probably can’t absolutely defend their views, and so they don’t need to, provided that the press agrees with them. They know that backing the trigger boosts their model inside the inventive group.
And, because the trade continues to shrink within the face of the digital revolution, that issues.
Standing up for Israel, free speech and harmless hostages is a bridge too far for the fashionable actor-activist. There’s no skilled payoff, solely doable punishment.
Editor’s Word: It’s a brutal time to be an unbiased journalist, nevertheless it’s by no means been extra crucial given the sorry state of the company press. In case you’re having fun with Hollywood in Toto, I hope you’ll think about leaving a coin (or two) in our Tip Jar.