Barbara Walters Names Amal Clooney 'Most Fascinating' for All the Wrong Reasons
Amal Clooney in Greece defending her client. Photo: Getty Images
Amal Alamuddin, now Clooney, is a highly respected human rights attorney who defends clients like Julian Assange and Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations. She’s often invited to speak at the United Nations, and, at only 36, is a partner at a prestigious London-based law firm. She’s risen to the top of her competitive field—on an international level—and she’s not even forty. And yet, her accomplishments aren’t what have gained her worldwide attention and adoration. Instead, her marriage to actor George Clooney and enviable sense of style have landed her on best-dressed lists and, on Sunday night, the No. 1 spot on Barbara Walters’s annual 10 Most Fascinating People of 2014 list.
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"You could say hers was the wedding of the year," Walters said. "But let’s put it into perspective: It was really one of the greatest achievements in human history." Getting a man that said he would never marry again down the aisle is, according to the TV host, equivalent to what previous winners like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Nancy Pelosi, President Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Steve Jobs, and more have accomplished. These people have fought for world peace, run countries, invented technology, and various other achievements that will and do appear in textbooks. But the Clooney wedding being taught in high school? That’s a topic that will certainly be skipped.
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It’s not that the newlywed doesn’t deserve to be honored, it’s that she’s being crowned for all the wrong reasons. According to Walters, the nuptials thrust Alamuddin into “that stratosphere that we reserve for the Jackie O’s or the Princess Di’s or Kate Middleton. That is, everything she does, says or wears is officially fascinating.”
Yes, Alamuddin’s outfits for her wedding weekend in Rome were beautiful: a Giambattista Valli mullet mini dress, Alexander McQueen couture gown, Oscar de la Renta wedding dress, and Stella McCartney matching separates all stunned. But since then, she has continued her work defending Greece—her client is literally a country—in its fight to return the Elgin Marbles to the Parthenon. She even turned down a job at the United Nations. But her work’s been overshadowed by pregnancy rumors, date nights, potential real estate purchases, and fashion choices.
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Walters did note Alamuddin’s work defending “freedom of speech and women’s rights,” but she added that she did so “while looking gorgeous.” This addendum seems to indicate that having both brains and beauty is an important feat and that only unattractive or unkempt people can be professionally successful.
The fact that Alamuddin gets recognized for nabbing the world’s most eligible bachelor and not her impressive resumé has been long been derided. An article written by The Business Woman called “Internationally acclaimed barrister Amal Alamuddin marries an actor” went viral and a similarly titled post from Slate, “London Human Rights Lawyer Amal Alamuddin Is Engaged,” received attention as well.
On social media, many people picked up on the controversial selection.
It’s particularly absentminded of Walters to commend Clooney for her romantic conquest because of the strides the 85-year-old made within her own field. Breaking through the male-dominated television news world, Walters was the first woman to receive the “co-anchor” title. Married three times, her legacy isn’t based on the men in her life, it’s what she has done in her career. Perhaps she should have extended the same courtesy she receives to Amal Clooney.
