Jerry Lewis : Jerry Lewis to receive humanitarian award at Oscars
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Veteran comedian Jerry Lewis will be honoured with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy Awards ceremony on February 22.
The Hersholt Award recognises humanitarian efforts which bring credit to the film industry – and was last given to producer Sherry Lansing in 2007.
Through his annual Labor Day telethon, the 82-year-old ‘Nutty Professor’ star has raised over 2 billion dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, reports BBC.
Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, described Lewis as “a legendary comedian who has… brought laughter to millions around the world.
In addition, he said, the actor has “helped thousands upon thousands by raising funds and awareness for those suffering from muscular dystrophy”.
The award has been given out intermittently at the Oscars since 1956 and previous recipients include Bob Hope, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. (ANI)
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Laura said:
An online petition protesting this award has been started at http://www.petitiononline.com/jlno2009/petition.html
To many disability activists, feminists, and LGBT people, Jerry Lewis is NOT a humanitarian. He has insulted many members of minority groups, including people with muscular dystrophy and other disabilities.
Here are some examples: In 1990, Lewis wrote that if he had muscular dystrophy and had to use a wheelchair, he would “just have to learn to try to be good at being a half a person.” During the 1992 Telethon, he said that people with MD, whom he always insists on calling “my kids,” “cannot go into the workplace. There’s nothing they can do.” Comments like these have led disability activists and our allies to protest against Jerry Lewis. We’ve argued that he uses the Telethon to promote pity, a counterproductive emotion which undermines our social equality. Here’s how Lewis responded to the Telethon protesters during a 2001 television interview: “Pity? You don’t want to be pitied because you’re a cripple in a wheelchair? Stay in your house!”
If you object to the Motion Picture Academy’s decision to recognize Lewis as a “humanitarian,” sign our online petition at
http://www.petitiononline.com/jlno2009/petition.htmlJanuary 11th, 2009 at 2:25 am
