The 28th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards honored more than just Hollywood’s finest, with several stars paying tribute and offering prayers for those impacted by the crisis in Ukraine.
Lady Gaga – donning the silver carpet in Santa Monica, California Sunday night in white and sequenced Armani Privé gown – issued her support for Ukraine and reminded everyone of the importance of gratitude during this time.
‘The story I’m telling is the truth, which is that I am just really honored to be here,’ the 35-year-old House of Gucci actress said when questioned about her dress.
‘This is a beautiful night where we all get to celebrate art together and celebrate each other. There’s so much going on in the world and my heart goes out to Ukraine. I think tonight we should all really sit in the gratitude of this.’
Her remarks were echoed by actor Michael Douglas, 77, who sported a blue-and-yellow pocket square on the silver carpet, said: ‘This is not the LA Rams.’
‘If ever there was a time for us to appreciate what true democracy is, I’m just so proud of what these people of this country have done.’
Lady Gaga said during a silver carpet interview: ‘There’s so much going on in the world and my heart goes out to Ukraine. I think tonight we should all really sit in the gratitude of this’
Actor Michael Douglas, who sported a blue-and-yellow pocket square on the silver carpet Sunday night, said: ‘If ever there was a time for us to appreciate what true democracy is, I’m just so proud of what these people of this country have done’
Several other performers, including SAG President Fran Drescher, used their speeches to address the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
‘First, I would like to extend prayers to the people of Ukraine,’ Drescher, 64, best known for her television sitcom The Nanny, told the audience as she arrived on stage mid-ceremony.
Her remarks were echoed by 40-year-old Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. who kicked off the annual awards show, saying: ‘We’re holding a place in our hearts for Ukraine and sending our thoughts, prayers and hopes for impending peace.’
Jean Smart, who took home the award for outstanding female actor in a comedy series, was met with a standing ovation ahead of her acceptance speech.
The Hacks star reminded the audience of the importance of acting before closing her remarks with a request for prayers.
‘Oh, you guys, thank you so much. I love actors, nobody gets us actors. What we do is valuable, we are the tribe’s storytellers since man crawled out the cave and sat around the fire together and it’s important,’ Smart, 70, said before giving a shout out to her children.
She concluded her remarks by saying: ‘Please everyone, pray for peace.’
SAG President Fran Drescher told the awards show audience: I would like to extend prayers to the people of Ukraine’
Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. (left) – accompanied by co-stars Lin-Manuel Miranda (center) and Daveed Diggs (far right) – kicked off the annual awards show, saying: ‘We’re holding a place in our hearts for Ukraine and sending our thoughts, prayers and hopes for impending peace’
Jean Smart, who took home the award for outstanding female actor in a comedy series, concluded her remarks by saying: ‘Please everyone, pray for peace’
Actor Brian Cox, who alongside his fellow Succession cast took home the trophy for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble, described the invasion as ‘truly awful,’ but also condemned how artists in Russia were being impacted by the conflict.
‘This is a thing that’s come to me about what’s going on in the Ukraine. It’s truly, truly awful, really, really awful what’s happening. And it’s particularly awful in terms of what is effecting the other people, particularly in our profession,’ the actor, 75, said during his acceptance speech.
‘The thing that’s really distressed me is what’s happening in Russia to my fellow actors and actresses and performers, and critics. They are told under pain of high treason that they cannot say a word about Ukraine. And I think that is pretty awful. I think we should all stand together and also for those people in Russia who do not like what’s going on, particularly the artists.’
He added: ‘I think we should really join in celebrating them and hoping that they can actually make a shift. Because I believe they can.’
Actor Brian Cox, speaking to the SAG Awards audience Sunday night after his Succession win, called the invasion of Ukraine ‘truly awful,’ but also condemned how artists in Russia were being impacted by the conflict
Cox also shared how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 44, was a comic performer before serving as the nation’s leader.
‘The president of Ukraine was a comic, you know, he was a wonderful comic performer,’ the Succession star applauded.
‘And we should respect that for him, and to come to the presidency is amazing.’
When accepting his award for male actor in a miniseries or TV movie for Dopesick, Michael Keaton also commented on Zelensky’s performance history.
‘We have a fellow actor in Zelensky, who deserves some credit tonight for fighting the fight,’ Keaton, 70, said.
In addition to emotional speeches during the ceremony, the SAG Awards silver carpet saw a wave of yellow and blue as celebrities sported the colors of the Ukrainian flag while making their debut.
Actress Greta Lee, 38, paraded the silver carpet in a Marc Jacobs dress paying tribute to the flag.
Actress Shari Belafonte, 67, and actors Douglas Hodge, 62, Tyler Perry, 52, and Jon Bernthal, 45, wore blue-and-yellow ribbons honoring the nation.
Stylist Ilaria Urbinati – who often dresses the likes of Perry, Charlie Puth and Ryan Reynolds – posted a close-up of the ribbons on her Instagram account with a caption reading: ‘SAG awards prep #standwithukraine.’
Actress Lisa Ann Walter, 58, was seen wearing a blue-and-yellow corsage.
Actor and producer Tyler Perry wears a ribbon with the colors of the Ukrainian flag as he arrives for the 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild
Actress Greta Lee, 38, paraded the silver carpet in a yellow and blue Marc Jacobs dress. Many suspect her outfit choose was in tribute to the Ukrainian flag
Douglas Hodge attends the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards at Barker Hangar sporting a blue-and-yellow ribbon in support of Ukraine
Actress Lisa Ann Walter wore a blue and yellow floral corsage in honor of Ukraine
Jon Bernthal, wearing a blue and yellow ribbon to show support for Ukraine, arrives at the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
Stylist Ilaria Urbinati – who often dresses the likes of Perry, Charlie Puth and Ryan Reynolds – posted a close-up of the ribbons on her Instagram account with a caption reading: ‘SAG awards prep #standwithukraine’
Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox, who served as E! News’ silver carpet emcee, addressed the conflict during her live coverage of the event.
She told the audience: ‘The performances we are celebrating here tonight have brought you joy and inspiration this year.’
‘With all this going on in the world, it can sometimes be difficult to find light and hope. Tonight, our hearts are with our friends in Ukraine. We stand with them and pray for their safety.’
As she spoke with fellow Hollywood talents, a sentiment of concern and heavy-hearts was echoed.
Andrew Garfield, who was nominated for his portrayal of playwright Jonathan Larson in the Netflix musical tick, tick…BOOM!, told Cox, 49, ahead of the show: ‘It’s a tricky day to celebrate.
‘Keeping what’s happening in Ukraine in our hearts. It’s weird.’
Shari Belafonte points to her blue-and-yellow ribbon worn in support of Ukraine
Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox, who served as E! News’ silver carpet emcee, addressed the conflict during her live coverage of the event. She told the audience: ‘Tonight, our hearts are with our friends in Ukraine. We stand with them and pray for their safety’
Andrew Garfield, discussing the invasion from the silver carpet, said: ‘Keeping what’s happening in Ukraine in our hearts. It’s weird. It’s definitely odd that we are dressing up in this moment, but yeah, I’m very, very grateful to be here with our community – a community of love’
‘It’s definitely odd that we are dressing up in this moment, but yeah, I’m very, very grateful to be here with our community – a community of love – and trying to bring Jonathan [Larson] seasons of love,’ the Spider-Man: No Way Home actor added.
Garfield, 38, remarks referenced the hit song, Seasons of Love, from Larson’s famed Broadway musical Rent. The play served as a tribute to his friends who died from AIDS in New York City.
Larson died of an aortic aneurysm 10 days before his 36th birthday.
As the stars were honored in Santa Monica, California, the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the country’s second biggest city of Kharkiv were met with blasts early Monday morning.
Kyiv had been mainly quiet overnight according to information provided by Ukrainian officials who released a brief statement on the Telegram messaging app.
An air raid alert sounded in the city at about 4.30am local time with residents urged to head to the nearest shelter. A missile also hit a residential building in the centre of Chernihiv, a city about 100 miles north of Kyiv.
Early on Monday morning, the Mayor of Kharkiv issued a message to residents of the city of 1.4 million people where he described how he was attempting to keep the city functioning while holding off Russian forces.
‘Starting from this morning multiple units of Russian Army made a breakthrough into Kharkiv. You saw them into residential areas of the city. Yesterday night there was an enormous artillery bombardment. But we have held the line. And we will forever,’ wrote Mayor Igor Terekhov.
As the stars were honored in Santa Monica, California, the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the country’s second biggest city of Kharkiv were met with blasts early Monday morning. Public Chernihiv reports that a rocket hit a residential building in the center of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv. A fire broke out with two lower floors ablaze. The number of injured is currently unknown
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has warned the country faces a ‘crucial’ 24 hours as Russia throws even more ground forces at Kyiv (Pictured: Russian armored personnel carrier burns amid damaged and abandoned light utility vehicles after fighting in Kharkiv on Sunday)
Ukraine’s health ministry said Sunday that 352 civilians, including 14 children, had been killed since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. The ongoing conflict has forced at least 200,000 people to flee (Pictured: Evacuees from Kyiv at a train station in Warsaw, Poland on Sunday)
‘Dear Inhabitants of Kharkiv. My dears. We must stick together. Me and our utility service are doing all what we can: we reconnect central heating. This morning, we reinitiated garbage collection. But were had to stop because we were under gunfire.
‘Bread. We do our best. Unfortunately, the bakery was not working because it was also coming under shelling. We maintain water supply in the city.
‘I beg you to take care of yourself. We are doing everything possible and sometimes — have to admit it — that it is impossible together with our utilities service to ensure the functioning of the city of Kharkiv.
‘We will withstand. We are Kharkovites.’
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has warned the country faces a ‘crucial’ 24 hours as Russia throws even more ground forces at Kyiv.
Ukraine’s health ministry said Sunday that 352 civilians, including 14 children, had been killed since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. The ongoing conflict has forced at least 200,000 people to flee.
Ukraine and Russia have agreed to meet Monday on the border with Belarus, in an attempt to hold peace talks. Although Zelensky admitted he wasn’t confident there would be a positive resolution, he argued he owed it to his people to at least try and engage.
Zelensky said the two delegations will meet ‘without preconditions’ near the Pripyat River, to the north of Chernobyl, in a deal brokered in a phone call with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Ukranian president described his discussion with Lukashenko as ‘very substantive’, adding that he had made it clear he did not want troops to move from Belarus to Ukraine and Lukashenko ‘assured him of this’.
The move came as Russian President Vladimir Putin declared, in his own televised address, that he had ordered troops operating the nuclear deterrent onto a ‘special regime of duty’ in light of ‘aggressive statements’ from NATO leaders and ‘unfriendly economic actions’. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg responded: ‘This is dangerous rhetoric’.
Lukashenko also issued a chilling threat Sunday night that the West’s sanctions on Russia are pushing the Kremlin into a Third World War, after Vladimir Putin put his nuclear deterrent forces on ‘alert’.
Additionally, Sunday evening also saw the EU unveil a fresh package of sanctions against Putin’s regime, closing off its airspace to all Russian planes and banning Kremlin propaganda outlets Russia Today and Sputnik. In response to the measures, Russian carrier Aeroflot said it was suspending all flights to Europe.
