John Legend reacts to Donald Trump‘s controversial executive order temporarily banning all refugees from entering the U.S.
Before introducing La La Land at the 2017 Producers Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 28, the R&B crooner did “something [he] wasn’t even supposed to do,” reports People.
“Now, this is a moment and we’re all worried about what’s happening in our country,” the 38-year-old began the emotional speech. “I won’t pretend that La La Land is a political film, but I do want to take a second to talk about what’s happening in our country right now. This is a film about love, about dreams and about this lovely city we call home, Los Angeles, California.”
He continued, highlighting the city’s history of hosting immigrants from across the globe: “Los Angeles is the home of so many immigrants, so many creative people, so many dreamers, and those of us who work in this business have the privilege of shaping how the world perceives this country we love. We are the voice; we are the face of America … Our America is big, it is free, and it is open to dreamers of all races, all countries, all religions. Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump. And I want to specifically tonight reject his vision and affirm that America has to be better than that.”
He went on to admit that he and his wife, model Chrissy Teigen, were so disturbed by Trump’s motion that they almost didn’t make it to the event. “My wife and I were a little bit conflicted about being here tonight when we know what’s happening in the streets, we know what’s happening at LAX and the airports around the country, but we came here tonight,” he said, referring to the pro-refugee protests at airports nationwide. “But we also wanted to put our money where our mouth is and we made a donation to the ACLU and to other organizations who are committed to fighting for freedom in the land of the free.”
Concluding, the star issued a plea to the crowd to do their part in the wake of the heartless motion: “There’s a lot of money and power in this room, and I hope you all will use it for something good. Let’s all continue to stand up together for what is right.”
Shortly before the event, Legend tweeted about the ban writing, “Shame on America. Shame on Donald Trump,” along with re-tweeting several posts about the ban. Meanwhile, his model wife echoed his sentiment when she tweeted, “Donald Trump is an unwell, evil human being. To the core.”
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