Queen of the Allies? Anne Hathaway denounces white and straight privilege during acceptance speech

Sep 17, 2018

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Is Anne Hathaway on her way to becoming the Queen of the White Allies?

In July, the A-list actress made headlines after she shared an outraged Instagram post about by the racially biased murder of 18-year-old, Nia Wilson.

“The murder of Nia Wilson- may she rest in the power and peace she was denied here- is unspeakable AND MUST NOT be met with silence,” Hathaway wrote to her 12 million followers.

“She is not a hash tag; she was a black woman and she was murdered in cold blood by a white man. White people- including me, including you- must take into the marrow of our privileged bones the truth that ALL black people fear for their lives DAILY in America and have done so for GENERATIONS. White people DO NOT have equivalence for this fear of violence.

Given those givens, we must ask our (white)selves- how “decent” are we really? Not in our intent, but in our actions? In our lack of action? Peace and prayers and JUSTICE for Nia and the Wilson family.”

This past weekend the Oscar-winner denounced white and straight privilege once more during in an award acceptance speech as she’s honored at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington D.C.

Addressing the room as ladies, gentlemen and “gentlethem,” she said, “It is important to acknowledge with the exception of not being a cisgender male, everything about how I was born has put me at the current center of a damaging and widely accepted myth.”

“That myth is that gayness orbits around straightness, transgender orbits around cisgender, and that all races orbit around whiteness,” Hathaway continued.

She then shared how she learned to reject the idea after spending time with her older brother, who is gay.

“I appreciate this community because together we are not going to just question this myth, we are going to destroy it,” she explained to the crowd. “Let’s tear this world apart and build a better one.”

In a show of solidarity, her entire family decided to leave the Catholic Church and convert to Episcopalianism after her brother came out. “Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother?” she was quoted as saying at the time.

She also credits former vice president Joe Biden for motivating her to be a more outspoken voice in support of social justice issues after seeing him do the same.

“I really needed this,” Hathaway admitted as she accepted the National Equality Award. “You guys just gave me my heart back.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D3tVgbRgWA

HRC President Chad Griffin couldn’t be more pleased with this year’s honoree stating: “Through her incredible talent and bold activism, Anne Hathaway uses her global platform to stand up for the LGBTQ community.

From speaking out against discriminatory legislation targeting the LGBTQ community to her leadership on workplace equality for women, Anne is making a real difference in the lives of countless people around the globe.”

If this keeps up, she might get that invite to the proverbial barbecue after all.