One glamorous Academy Awards tradition will be looking a little different this year. The United Talent Agency—one of the biggest agencies in Hollywood—has scrapped this year’s glitzy Oscars-weekend party in favor of planning a pro-immigration rally and making a donation to the American Civil Liberties Union and the International Rescue Committee.
"This is a moment that demands our generosity, awareness, and restlessness,” UTA’s CEO Jeremy Zimmer wrote in a letter reported by Variety.
They will hold their rally, known as “United Voices,” two days before the Oscars, on February 24, with a goal of showing a creative and artistic community in opposition to recent immigration actions. It seems likely you’ll spot several celebrity clients from their roster of film, literature, video game and other entertainment categories showing up to protest at the demonstration, hosted outside of UTA’s headquarters office in Beverly Hills.
If you aren’t able to make it out for the rally but want to show your support, you can add to the $250,000 already donated by giving to the ACLU and IRC through the UTA Foundation’s online Crowdrise campaign.
Among UTA’s clients is Asghar Farhadi, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker who is nominated again this year. Farhadi is Iranian and announced that he will not be attending the ceremony because he was concerned about the travel ban's potential impact on his ability to enter the United States.
UTA’s “United Voices” rally takes place Friday, February 24 from 3 to 5pm at UTA Headquarters, 9336 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills.
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