Hollywood’s selective silence on Iran exposes the lie of celebrity activism

In the glittering ballroom of the Golden Globes, the air is usually thick with self-congratulatory speeches about the power of art to change the world.

But this year, as the Iranian regime escalated its brutal crackdown on a generation of freedom fighters, that same room was defined by a haunting, comfortable silence. Many of the night’s most visible moral arbiters, including Mark Ruffalo, Wanda Sykes, Ariana Grande, Jean Smart, Natasha Lyonne and Bella Ramsey, proudly wore pins against ICE after Renee Good was shot.