Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib lashed out at the director of Oscar-winning film “Green Book,” Peter Farrelly, on Twitter for comments he made during his award acceptance speech that suggested Detroit needs to be saved.
Farrelly’s “Green Book” won the “Best Picture” category at the 2019 Academy Awards Sunday night. During Farrelly’s award acceptance speech, he made a shout-out to the watch company Shinola, exclaiming, “Tom Kartsotis and Shinola watches — unbelievable! They’re saving Detroit!”
Tlaib voiced her disagreement with Farrelly’s comment on Twitter, calling it a “disrespectful and hurtful narrative that we 1) need saving [and] 2) that billionaires are the ones to do it.”
The Congresswomen continued, “We just need the 1 [percent] to stop taking our land for nothing [and] shifting our tax dollars towards for-profit development that makes them richer.” (RELATED: Watch Bradley Cooper And Lady Gaga Perform ‘Shallow’ At The Oscars)
Say what? Please stop with this disrespectful & hurtful narrative that we 1) need saving & 2) that billionaires are the ones to do it.
We just need the 1% to stop taking our land for nothing + shifting our tax dollars towards for-profit development that makes them richer. https://t.co/6pWYVCutI1
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) February 25, 2019
Tlaib’s critical response among other similar takes on Twitter were followed by a statement from the Shinola company, first congratulating Farrelly on his Oscar award, then noting, “We did want to make it clear that without the city of Detroit, there would be no Shinola. The city gave our brand life and its something we will never take for granted.”
The statement also claims that the award acceptance speech shout-out to the brand was “unplanned and unexpected” and came from Farrelly being “a friend to the brand for years.” (RELATED: Oscars Ditched Host Over Offensive Content- Tina Fey Grabbed Amy Poehler’s Boob 5 Minutes In)
— Shinola (@Shinola) February 25, 2019
“Green Book” has previously received criticism for its approach to racial issues, CBS reports. Entertainment Weekly’s Rebecca Theodore-Vachon rekindled this criticism, Sunday, by pointing out the lack of acknowledgment of African American creator of the original Green Book, Victor Hugo, in Ferrally’s acceptance speech.
She tweeted, Sunday “Wow. Just wow. Notice how they did not even acknowledge the creator of the actual Green Book, Victor Hugo Green in the acceptance speech for Best Picture. ‘It all started with Viggo.’ How disrespectful.”
Wow. Just wow. Notice how they did not even acknowledge the creator of the actual Green Book, Victor Hugo Green in the acceptance speech for Best Picture. “It all started with Viggo.” How disrespectful. #Oscars
— Rebecca Theodore-Vachon (@FilmFatale_NYC) February 25, 2019