Rantz: Disgusting political stunt at Oscars

Congrats to Asghar Farhadi on his Oscar win for Best Foreign Language Film in The Salesman. By all accounts, the film is a good one. His speech? It was a disgusting stunt made worse by the shameless hypocrites in the audience.

Photos from the 89th Academy Awards

Farhadi opted to boycott the Oscars over President Donald Trump’s targeted travel ban. Instead, he sent engineer Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman in space, to read a statement.

“I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight,” she read on his behalf. “My access is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.”

The speech landed some grand applause from an audience where many will proudly proclaim their Progressive values. Right.

Let’s talk about disrespect, for just a moment. Try screening the Oscar-winning LGBTQ film “Moonlight” in Iran, where you can be put to death for being gay.

If you’re lucky and sneak in Oscar-winning “Zootopia” for a screening in Iran, you may not find many children in the audience. We know of 49-160 of which are sitting on death row in Iran.

Try running the NY Times ad about the importance of truth in journalism in Iran, where there is no press freedom.

But the boycott stunt … so worth it, especially if you hate our president more than you hate the actual oppression of gays, women, and anyone who speaks out from a position that lacks the privilege Farhadi apparently holds. Maybe more people will go see “The Salesman” as a result.

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