George Clooney makes some reporters swoon, and it has little to do with his handsome mug.
The Oscar winner is one of the industry’s more thoughtful stars, sharing his progressive views in a way his peers can’t often match. He’s hobnobbed with President Barack Obama, testified before Congress and traveled the globe to research causes near and dear to his heart. Disagree with him all you want, but he’s not likely to curse out a sitting president at an awards gala. Nor do you have to clear the kids out of the room when he appears for a TV interview.
That makes him both appealing and aligned with the left-leaning nature of most entertainment journalists. They’d rather ask him about his stylish marriage to Amal Clooney, a civil rights attorney, than dig up any dirt that might make him look shabby.
There’s still a critical question yet to be asked of him. And it’s important for both his humanitarian image and equal rights nationwide.
Last year George and Amal Clooney cut a massive $1 million check for the Southern Poverty Law Center. The organization that claims dedication to stamping out bigotry.
The couple acted following the events in Charlottesville, Va., where a “Unite the Right” rally featuring white supremacists had tragic consequences. A 32-year-old counter-protester, Heather Heyer, died when James Alex Fields, Jr., 20, drove into a crowd of her fellow counter-protesters.
“Amal and I wanted to add our voice (and financial assistance) to the ongoing fight for equality,” Clooney told USA TODAY via a prepared statement at the time of the donation. “There are no two sides to bigotry and hate.”
The latter comment found the Clooneys trolling President Donald Trump, who made the inelegant statement defending a portion of the protesters who may not agree with any white nationalist beliefs.
On the surface, the donation seemed both generous and timely. Only the SPLC is not what it appears to be. The group has routinely targeted Christian and conservative groups with no discernible ties to bigotry, hate or racism.
Among those previously targeted by SPLC? Rand Paul, Ben Carson and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The group’s tentacles spread beyond its press-friendly blasts about the latest in “hate” news.
According to a report by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Amazon gives the SPLC full control over which groups need to be terminated from its Amazon Smile charitable program. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian organization, recently got cut from the Amazon Smile program.
Legal Insurrection was cut from the Amazon Associates program, without credible rationale for the decision. This service allows websites to generate revenue when users visit Amazon after clicking ads located on other sites.
Conservative outlets like the National Review, have pounded the SPLC for moving from civil rights to free speech suppression.
Even Politico, hardly a conservative outlet, wondered last year if the group had “lost its way.”
It all begs a simple question: what say you, George?
Does Clooney have any comment about these actions? Does he believe Christian and conservative groups deserve a place on the SPLC hate watch radar? If so, why? If not, does he regret sending such a massive sum to the group? Can he use his considerable clout on the unfairly maligned groups’ defense?
Perhaps his celebrity status (and financial muscle) could coax the SPLC back to its core mission and away from unfairly targeting innocent groups.
Just don’t hold your breath waiting for anyone to ask Clooney that critical question.
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