By Joseph Akahome
- Brad Pitt and George Clooney at the premiere of ‘8’
Oscar winning Hollywood actors, George Clooney and Brad Pitt recently headlined an all-star cast in a courtroom gay marriage drama about California’s Proposition ‘8’.
The play, written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and directed by Oscar-nominated director Rob Reiner, is based on the fight over the constitutionality of California’s gay marriage ban – Proposition 8.
The performance at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre was broadcast live on YouTube and was said to have attracted over 200, 000 viewers.
Jane Lynch, who played Proposition 8 supporter Maggie Gallagher, said it was ‘amazing’ to have Brad Pitt and George Clooney take part in the reading.
According to American Federation for Equal Rights, one of the sponsors, the reading raised more than $2 million. The money will go toward legal fees in the continuing battle to legalize gay marriage.
Clooney, 50, who is unmarried, had recently responded to allegations that he was gay, stating that it didn’t bother him.
‘I think it’s funny, but the last thing you’ll ever see me do is jump up and down, saying, ‘These are lies!’ That would be unfair and unkind to my good friends in the gay community‘.
‘I’m not going to let anyone make it seem like being gay is a bad thing‘.
Both stars have been very visible pro-gay rights activists, supporting gay causes and the right of gay partners to enter into marriage.
