State Department Deletes Tweet Congratulating Iranian Director for Oscar Win
The government congratulated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, then deleted it when it realized he vehemently denounced Donald Trump’s travel ban
Phil Hornshaw | February 27, 2017 @ 4:34 PM
Last Updated: February 27, 2017 @ 5:32 PM
Anousheh Ansari accepts the Oscar on behalf of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi / Getty Images
In an unexpectedly conciliatory move, last night during the 89th annual Academy Awards, someone manning the U.S. State Department’s official Persian-language Twitter account congratulated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, and the Iranian people, after his film “The Salesman” won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Then they deleted the tweet.
So did rogue State Department staffers use Twitter to send a subtle rebuttal Donald Trump’s way during the Oscars? Or was it a simple mistake?
Farhadi chose not to attend the 2017 Oscars, remaining home in Tehran to protest Donald Trump’s proposed ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Iran. And he made absolutely certain the intent behind his absence was clear in his Oscar acceptance speech, read by Iranian-American scientist Firouz Naderi, who accepted Farhadi’s Oscar on his behalf along with Anousheh Ansari, the first person of Iranian descent in space.
“My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the US. Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear,” Farhadi’s statement said. “A deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between us and others. An empathy which we need today more than ever.”
The State Department later said the tweet was deleted because of Farhadi’s statement.
“A congratulatory tweet was posted,” a Department spokeswoman told Reuters. “We later removed the post to avoid any misperception that the USG (U.S. government) endorsed the comments made in the acceptance speech.”
If so, the State Department must not have been paying attention to the news. Farhadi announced his intention to skip the Oscars on Jan 29, shortly after Trump’s ban was enacted via executive order. On Feb 24, Farhadi and all five of his fellow Best Foreign Language Film nominees signed onto a joint statement denouncing both the ban and Trump administration policies.
“On behalf of all nominees, we would like to express our unanimous and emphatic disapproval of the climate of fanaticism and nationalism we see today in the U.S. and in so many other countries, in parts of the population and, most unfortunately of all, among leading politicians,” the statement said. Farhadi, Martin Zandvliet (“Land of Mine,” Denmark), Hannes Holm (“A Man Called Ove,” Sweden), Maren Ade (“Toni Erdmann,” Germany) and Martin Butler & Bentley Dean (“Tanna,” Australia) all signed the statement.
Farhadi wasn’t the only filmmaker the travel ban affected. Cinematographer Khaled Khateeb, who worked on the Oscar-winning short documentary film “White Helmets,” was barred from entering the U.S. “White Helmets” tells the story of Syrian Civil Defense volunteers, who are working to save people placed in danger by civil war in Syria.
See the State Department tweet below.
Official Persian language account of US secretary of state congratulated Iranian director Farhadi for his Oscar then deleted it @USAdarFarsipic.twitter.com/sIWdXgwDp7
12 Moments That Would Make Donald Trump Glad He Skipped the Oscars (Photos)
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said this week Donald Trump wouldn't be watching the 2017 Academy Awards. That was probably a good idea, since lots of people in Hollywood had digs for the president during the award show. Even some of the ads played during the show were critical. Here are all the political moments from the Oscars.
Kimmel jokes about Trump's travel ban In Hollywood, "We don't discriminate against people based on what countries they come from. We discriminate against people based on their age and weight," Kimmel joked.
Iranian director tears Trump's travel ban "The Salesman" director Asghar Farhadi skipped the Oscars. In a statement he said, "I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the the people of my country and those of the other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.”
"Zootopia" director mentions tolerance "We are so grateful to the audiences all over the world that embraced this film with this story of tolerance being more powerful than fear of the other,”said Zootopia co-director Rich Howard.
Kimmel mocks Trump's Meryl Streep comments "This is Meryl's 20th Oscar nomination, even more amazing considering she wasn't in a movie this year...That's a nice dress by the way. Is that an Ivanka?"
Kimmel tweets at Donald Trump He remarked that the show had been on for more than two hours and Trump hadn't tweeted about it at all.
Audible's "1984" ad Zachary Quinto reads George Orwell's "1984," choosing a passage about how contact with foreign people might dispel fear and hatred. A definite dig in light of the Trump travel ban.
"La La Land" composer highlights education "La La Land" composer Justin Paul took a dig at Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos during his speech for Best Original Song. "I was educated in public schools where arts and culture were valued. And recognized and resourced. And I'm so grateful to all my teachers who taught so much and gave so much to us."
"Moonlight" director says "we have your back" Barry Jenkins in his acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay said, "All you people who feel like there's no mirror for you, the academy has your back, the ACLU has your back, we have your back, and for the next four years, we will not forget you." Co-writer Tarell Alvin McRaney also shouted out "all those black and brown boys and girls and nongender conforming who don't see themselves" in movies much.
"O.J.: Made in America" director calls out police brutality "This is also for other victims, victims of police violence, police brutality. This is their story as it is Ron and Nicole’s," director Ezra Edelman said in his acceptance speech for Best Documentary.
New York Times releases ad about the importance of truth The Times released an ad in direct response to Trump's constant insults against the Times and accusations of "fake news." Watch it here.
Samsung ends VR commercial with Women's March Samsung showed off its Gear VR virtual reality headset with shots of the 2017 Inauguration, but ended with three times as many clips of the worldwide Women's March. Watch it here.
BONUS: Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway read the wrong Best Picture Unlike the other items on this list, Trump may actually be sorry he missed seeing the biggest flub in Oscar history as "La La Land" was named Best Picture at the Oscars by mistake given his anti-Oscar tweet history. Of course, his reaction to things like the show "Blackish" suggest he wouldn't be happy about "Moonlight" winning, what with its story about a gay black man and completely black cast.
The "La La Land" Best Picture acceptance speech calls out "repression" Before we found out the "La La Land" announcement was a mistake, the film's producers gave their entire acceptance speeches. Jordan Horowitz, who would later be the one who revealed the mistake, even made a small dig at Trump, saying that "repression is the enemy of civilization... the dreams we dream today will provide the love, the compassion and the humanity that will narrate the stories of our lives tomorrow."
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And at least one moment he’d probably have enjoyed bigly
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said this week Donald Trump wouldn't be watching the 2017 Academy Awards. That was probably a good idea, since lots of people in Hollywood had digs for the president during the award show. Even some of the ads played during the show were critical. Here are all the political moments from the Oscars.
