Lady Gaga defends SAG Awards amid Ukraine invasion

The timing of the SAG Awards celebrating Hollywood — amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — didn’t go unnoticed.

While the war was addressed at points during Sunday’s awards show and some attendees admitted it was “weird” and “tricky” to be celebrating, Twitter was full of criticism of “out of touch” and “tone deaf” Hollywooders walking the red carpet while more than 500,000 Ukrainians have been displaced.

After the show, Lady Gaga, who was nominated for House of Gucci, took to Instagram to seemingly address that criticism, writing, “My true wish tonight is that for two hours myself and my fellow actors at @sagawadrds would have made the public smile. I’m honored to have been there, it is a privilege to be an entertainer. There are many reasons the world gives us all the time NOT to smile. I’m praying tonight for Ukraine and am sending smiles to all your hearts I pray will be whole soon.”

On the red carpet, the actress and singer was asked by Laverne Cox about her outfit. She said that while she was just happy to “celebrate art” with her peers for a few hours. “There’s so much going on in the world, and my heart really goes out to Ukraine. I think tonight we should all really sit in the gratitude of this.”

The awards show started with the mention of the war. After the opening montage, Leslie Odom Jr. offered a message of support, saying, “We’re holding a place in our hearts for Ukraine and sending our thoughts, prayers and hopes for impending peace.” Later, SAG President Fran Drescher extended prayers to the people of Ukraine.

There were also mentioned in acceptance speeches. Dopesick winner Michael Keaton mentioned Ukrainian President Zelensky’s history as a performer, saying, “We have a fellow actor in Zelensky, who deserves some credit tonight for fighting the fight.” The Eyes Of Tammy Faye winner Jessica Chastain said her “heart is with our international family all over the world right now who is fighting for their safety and their freedom.” Hacks winner Jean Smart urged people to “pray for peace.”

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When the Succession cast took the stage for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Brian Cox used the time at the mic to call attention to the “truly, truly awful” events and also noted Zelensky’s entertainment background. He also called attention to censorship in Russia.

“The thing that’s really distressed me is what’s happening in Russia to my fellow actors and actresses and performers and writers and critics,” Cox said. “They are told, under pain of high treason, that they cannot say a word about Ukraine. And I think that is pretty awful. And I think we should all stand together. And also for those people in Russia who don’t like what’s going on, particularly the artists, I think we should really join in celebrating them and hoping they can actually make a shift, as I believe they can.”

On the red carpet, Andrew Garfield told E! that it was “a tricky day to celebrate.” He said he was “keeping what’s happening in Ukraine in our hearts,” adding the timing of it was was “weird.”

SAG honoree Helen Mirren spoke about the “suffering,” “courage” and “brutality” in her red carpet interview with the Associated Press. She said that as she was mentally preparing for the event, “I thought: You know what? All you can do is carry on the best you possibly can. We just have to do what we do. Then when we’ve done this we can put our minds back to how we help the Ukrainian people.”

Ariana DeBose, nominee for West Side Story, addressed the people of Ukraine, saying, “You are not alone. We’re watching. We’re standing with you. And we are using our voices in the best way that we know how.”

Kevin Costner called the situation in Ukraine a disaster” and “shameful.”

Many others made statements by wearing pins with Ukraine’s colors, including Michael Douglas, Tyler Perry and The Great actor Douglas Hodge. The Morning Show actress Shari Belafonte brought extra pins in case others wanted to wear them, according to KABC-TV.

There were other ways it was incorporated. For instance, Greta Lee walked the red carpet in a blue and yellow Marc Jacobs dress. Elle Fanning painted her nails Ukraine flag colors, telling the AP, “I think we should all remember that they’re in our hearts.”

Dagmara Domińczyk, the Polish-American actress who stars in Succession, posted a photo of her night on social media — but acknowledged her conflicting feelings about celebrating amid crisis.

“Well. What can I write that won’t make this post seem trite, indulgent or meaningless,” she tweeted along with a photo of herself with husband Patrick Wilson. “Because my Slavic heart is with Ukraine. It has been for days. But tonight was a reprieve, a small happy moment that I got to share with the love of my life.”

Actress Lisa Guerrero, Inside Edition investigative correspondent and actress, shared on social media that she would be supporting the show, noting the Screen Actors Guild represents journalists, including “war correspondents in harm’s way right now.”

But all this didn’t lessen the sting of criticism on social media during Sunday’s show and since, including these:

Meanwhile, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively announced over the weekend that they will match up to $1 million in aid to displaced Ukrainians. The funds go toward the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s lifesaving aid to Ukrainian families in need.

Also, Bethenny Frankel said she has raised nearly $3 million through her disaster relief charity BStrong and is committing $10 million. The funds will be used to help refugees travel and to set up stations along the Poland-Ukraine border to provide essential items to those fleeing.

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