Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Feminist Joke About Amal Clooney’s Achievements Was Hilarious and Spot-On
As writer and transgender activist Janet Mock eloquently put it, the comedians' presentation of George Clooney's lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes ceremony Sunday night was pure "feminist genius."
Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney with husband George. Flickr
As writer and transgender activist Janet Mock eloquently put it, the comedians’ presentation of George Clooney’s lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes ceremony Sunday night was pure “feminist genius.” The human rights lawyer, whose impressive resume is often reduced to “the one who finally snagged eternal Hollywood bachelor George Clooney” (or something along those lines), has represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and the state of Cambodia as well as investigated the Egyptian judiciary and rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip.
Mic:
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler came out swinging at the stars assembled at the Golden Globes in downtown Los Angeles, but the best joke was by far the subversive commentary about Hollywood and the role it plays in shaping how we value men and women in society…After listing the impressive accomplishments under Amal Clooney’s belt, like being an international human rights lawyer who worked for the United Nations and serving as an adviser to Kofi Annan in Syria (read her entire Wikipedia page, seriously), Fey quipped, “Tonight her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award.”
Given that Amal Clooney had to put up with Ryan Seacrest’s ridiculous questions about her gloves on the red carpet and the horrendously offensive “game over” T-shirt the crew offered as a “wedding gift,” this opening monologue was probably the only thing that stopped her from packing her shit and running to the nearest law firm where stupid celebrities are not allowed.
The joke points to the problem with the Golden Globes, and all awards shows for that matter: By holding up men and women alike as objects, Hollywood erases any other credentials that actually matter in real life.
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—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata
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