The big guns are out in Hollywood.
George Lucas has endorsed Bob Iger and the Disney board in a proxy fight led by troublemaker Nelson Peltz.
Barbra Streisand has denounced the folks who chose the winners of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Awards or RBG Awards, given in memory of the late, liberal Supreme Court Justice. The awards have since been cancelled. The winners included — believe it or not — avowed conservatives Rupert Murdoch and Elon Musk, and insider trading philanthropist Michael Milken, plus former felon Martha Stewart, and, for good measure, Sylvester Stallone.
The RBG Awards are presented by something called the Opperman Foundation. They didn’t consult the Ginsburg family, which immediately objected to everyone in the group.
“The last thing we intended was to offend the family and friends of RBG,” said Julie Opperman, chair of the Opperman Foundation, before she was carted off to a sanitarium (just kidding on the last part).
Meanwhile, Lucas — who sold LucasFilm for $4 billion to Disney and Iger a few years ago — is supporting his deal. He wrote: “Creating magic is not for amateurs. When I sold Lucasfilm just over a decade ago, I was delighted to become a Disney shareholder because of my long-time admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger’s leadership. When Bob recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved. No one knows Disney better. I remain a significant shareholder because I have full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob’s track record of driving long-term value. I have voted all of my shares for Disney’s 12 directors and urge other shareholders to do the same.”
Streisand wrote that she was joining “the Ginsburg family in condemning the choice of honorees this year. I had the privilege of meeting Justice Ginsburg on several occasions, and I strongly doubt she would approve of these awardees.”
