Delta and Bank of America Pull Sponsorship from Bizarre Trump Rendition of Julius Caesar
Maybe don’t use a Trump likeness to portray Julius Caesar in a play where he’s stabbed to death?
Last week, Leslie blogged about the bizarre rendition of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar wherein Caesar is played by a man bearing an uncanny resemblance to Trump.
Consequently, Delta and Bank of America have pulled corporate sponsorship from New York City’s Shakespeare in the Park.
From the New York Times:
New York’s Public Theater lost financial support from two high-profile corporate donors, Delta Air Lines and Bank of America, on Sunday amid intense criticism of its production of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” which depicts the assassination of a Trump-like Roman ruler.
The companies’ decisions came after days of criticism online and in right-leaning media outlets that was amplified by Donald Trump Jr., a son of the president, who appeared to call into question the theater’s funding sources on Twitter on Sunday morning.
“No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of ‘Julius Caesar’ at this summer’s free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines’ values,” Delta said in a statement on Sunday night.
“Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste,” the company said. “We have notified them of our decision to end our sponsorship as the official airline of the Public Theater effective immediately.”
Bank of America followed hours later, saying it would withdraw financial support from the production of “Julius Caesar” but would not end its financial relationship with the theater, which a bank spokeswoman, Susan Atran, said had lasted for 11 years.
“The Public Theater chose to present ‘Julius Caesar’ in a way that was intended to provoke and offend,” Ms. Atran said. “Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it. We are withdrawing our funding for this production.” The statement came hours after the airline revealed its decision in replies to complaints on Twitter.
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Comments
The Loony Left just can’t “resist” doing these things! How long will it take until they realize that even the #NeverTrump people are offended by all the suggestive murder and assassination “art”? Calling them out for their crass displays of intolerance, bias, and outright bigotry fails, as they take these epithets as compliments. Perhaps Delta and BoA are the beginning of a trend to hit them where it really hurts … in the wallet!
My guess is Delta and BOA had no clue what type of show The Public Theater was staging.
They just cut a check and enjoy being “patrons of the arts.”
Then the emails began pouring in…
I’m old enough to remember when conservatives didn’t have a problem with productions of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar making the murdered tyrant very similar to the sitting president. What changed?
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/shakesblog/obamas-ides-of-march/