LOS ANGELES: From George Clooney to Helen Mirren and Jared Leto — Hollywood celebrities at the 72nd Golden Globes award ceremony expressed on Sunday their solidarity with victims of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo which was attacked by two gunmen in Paris.
Clooney, the recipient of this year’s Cecil B DeMille lifetime achievement award, flaunted a Je Suis Charlie pin on his tuxedo, while his human rights lawyer wife Amal Alamuddin had a Je Suis Charlie emblem on her clutch.
Actor George Clooney accepts the Cecile B DeMille Award sporting a badge that says “Je Suis Charlie” at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. PHOTO: REUTERS
At the red carpet of the gala – which was held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel — Mirren, Diane Kruger, Joshua Jackson and Kathy Bates also showed off Je Suis Charlie signage, while French composer Alexandre Desplat, who was nominated for his The Imitation Game score, also brought a copy of the sign, reported variety.com.
Je Suis Charlie, French for “I Am Charlie,” is the slogan adopted by supporters of press freedom around the world, and the French version has fast become one of the most-used hashtags ever on Twitter.
Amal Clooney wears a “Je Suis Charlie” button on her clutch upon arrival at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. PHOTO: REUTERS
Tributes for the incident continued during the ceremony.
Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Theo Kingma received a standing ovation when he took to the stage, calling for freedom of speech around the world.
Last year’s Golden Globe winner for Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto, also shared a moment before presenting an award at the event.
“Our thoughts, our prayers, our hearts are with you tonight,” he said addressing Charlie Hebdo.
Actress Helen Mirren holds a “Je Suis Charlie” sign, referring to the recent attacks in Paris, as she arrives at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. PHOTO: REUTERS
Later, Clooney also paid tribute to the victims of the attack, in which the offices of the satirical magazine were attacked by two brothers — Cherif and Said Kouachi — on January 7, killing 12 people, including the chief editor.
“Today was an extraordinary day, there were millions of people who marched — not just in Paris but around the world — and they were Christians and Jews and Muslims, they were leaders of countries all over the world and they didn’t march in protest. They marched in support of the idea that we will not walk in fear. So Je Suis Charlie,” Clooney said.
Actors Joshua Jackson and Diane Kruger hold a “Je Suis Charlie” sign on the red carpet at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. PHOTO: REUTERS