Angelina Jolie, who has served as a philanthropist and human rights advocate about as long as she’s commanded a movie star career, recently spoke to reporters at the San Sebastián Film Festival about the worrying sociopolitical conditions of the United States.
The Academy Award-winning actress was at the international Spanish fest promoting the deeply personal drama Couture, helmed by Alice Winocour, which had its world premiere at TIFF.
“It’s obviously a very difficult question,” she began, addressing recent turmoil in America, “only to say that I love my country, but I don’t, at this time, recognize my country. I’ve always lived internationally, my family is international, my friends, my life. My worldview is equal, united, international, so anything anywhere that divides or, of course, limits personal expressions and freedoms from anyone, I think, is very dangerous.”
She concluded, “These are such serious times that we have to be careful not to say things casually, so I’ll be careful during a press conference, but to say that, of course, like all of you and everyone watching, these are very, very heavy times we are living in together.”
Though Jolie did not explicitly mention any one such event or incident in her statement, as captured in a video posted by Spanish radio network Cadena SER, it’s worth noting that her comments come after the continuing fallout and outcry surrounding the abrupt suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! for a joke the host made at president Donald Trump’s expense surrounding the fatal shooting of ultra-right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Couture, anchored by a memorable performance from Jolie, weaves together the stories of three women and girls from Ukraine, France and Sudan, in the lead up to a Parisian fashion show.
The post Angelina Jolie Advocates For Free Speech, Says She Doesn’t “Recognize” U.S. Despite “Love” She Has For The Nation: “These Are Such Serious Times” appeared first on Deadline.