The Director’s Guild of America released a statement Tuesday night denouncing President Trump’s controversial executive order on immigration.
The statement on the DGA website told its 16,000 members that the union believes artists “regardless of their national origin, faith, or gender — should be able to come to the United States to showcase their work.”
The union also vowed to “support the ability of artists to share their art in the United States.”
Trump’s incendiary executive order on refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries has sparked strong reactions across Hollywood, most notably at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, with stars including Mahershala Ali, Sarah Paulson, Kerry Washington, Ashton Kutcher and Julia Louis-Dreyfus sharing their disdain and disappointment about it.
“I am the daughter of an immigrant,” the “Veep” and “Seinfeld” star said accepting the award for Best Actress in a comedy series. “My father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France and I’m an American patriot — and I love this country. And because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes. And this immigrant ban is a blemish and is un-American.”
See the full DGA statement below.
The DGA strongly believes that artists — regardless of their national origin, faith, or gender — should be able to come to the United States to showcase their work. Policies that prevent this, without due consideration, should be of concern to all who care about art and cinema. The open exchange of art is core to who we are, it’s what motion pictures and television are increasingly about — drawing humanity together, transcending borders and cultures. The DGA will continue to support the ability of artists to work and share their art in the United States.