George and Amal Clooney were invited to the royal wedding, but were unable to attend due to a prior commitment Amal had made to speak at at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women. With the couple so dedicated to their work in humanitarian causes, they decided not to attend the star-studded wedding event.
In the meantime, Clooney also attended another similar event to his wife in Los Angeles on Friday: Variety’s Power of Women event.
According to the Independent, the actor introduced himself as “Amal Clooney’s husband” in honor of the occasion, turning the tides on female celebs who are often introduced as “so-and-so’s wife.”
But while he started on a joking note, he had a serious message to share with his audience. As many celebrities have been doing lately, Clooney decided to make a comment on the current political climate in the U.S. He used his speech to warn against the “fear of Muslims, immigrants and strong women” that Donald Trump and his administration are currently championing.
Clooney cautioned that the country will be on the wrong side of history if it “continues to be scared of what made it great.” The actor feels that the continued verbal assault on these groups by the president have created an atmosphere of fear and animosity.
George Clooney: "When you tell women that coming forward to testify about their abuse is a joke, don’t be shocked when they’re standing on your lawn, laughing on Nov. 7" | #PowerofWomen presented by @lifetimetv https://t.co/zcAhNacsHr pic.twitter.com/FfrklT6CLE
— Variety (@Variety) October 12, 2018
“When you call an entire religion your enemy, you might very well make an enemy out of an entire religion. When you tell a whole race of people that you value them less, you can’t be surprised when they question your values. When you tell women that coming forward to testify about their abuse is a joke, don’t be shocked when they’re standing on your lawn, laughing on November 7. After all the jokes, and insults, and reality show frenzy, what will be remembered, what will stand the test of time, is holding responsible these wolves in wolves’ clothing.”
It’s not the first time the pair have had very different opinions on a matter. In the early days of Trump’s campaigning for the presidency, Clooney laughed off his chances — as a reality television personality — of actually making it to the White House. In the meantime, Clooney has fallen foul of Trump’s criticism when the president has taken a shot at the “Hollywood elite.”
The event Clooney was speaking at, hosted by Emma Gonzalez, one of the students who survived the Parkland shooting earlier this year, saw the actor also praising the teenager for her efforts to create more laws surrounding gun control so that other students will never have to experience what she did.