As spokesmen for gay rights go, I’m not sure I would’ve chosen Sean Penn. The ex-Mr. Madonna can be smug and oddly tone-deaf sometimes (“Butt boy?” Really?) but his perfomance as Harvey Milk was masterful and duly recognized at last night’s Oscars. While his acceptance speech didn’t match Tom Hanks‘ classy and powerful tribute to his gay teachers, Penn went to bat for us and his opening line was an instant classic:
Two authors — one gay, one conservative — weighed in on the equal marriage issue in the New York Times this weekend, arguing that both sides in the debate should cool off and accept civil unions as a “separate but equal” compromise. I don’t have a joke here because I think I just read it in the Times.
But hey! Here’s another Oscar winner who finally makes the Big Point. Go Lance!
All of this is very inspiring, of course, but is it really what the Oscars are all about? No, of course not — they’re about making fun of celebrities’ awful fashion choices and the clear winner of the unofficial Worst Dress Oscar went to Miley Cyrus. Annie Leibovitz got blamed for turning Miley into a teenage slut (ahem) but who gets the blame for turning her into a Fabergé egg?
Oh well, we can pick on her all we like but since she’s dating 20-year-old underwear model Justin Gaston, Miley gets the last laugh:
Sigh. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m downloading the “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack and reading “The Communist Manifesto.” Thanks, Sean!
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