Patricia Arquette Won't Back Down—& She Shouldn't
Patricia Arquette at the 87th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. Photo: Getty Images
It speaks volumes about Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech at the 87th Academy Awards that everyone talked about the unlikely coupling of Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez for five minutes—and is still talking about her words nearly three days later. Instead of just doling out appreciation and thanks on stage after winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Boyhood, Arquette made a powerful plea for women’s rights and equal pay. The surprising bit is, not everyone was as enthused as Meryl and J.Lo.
Arquette’s been scrutinized for using the Oscars stage to make a powerful, politically-charged statement about money when, like most in the theater on Sunday night, she’s presumed to be quite wealthy. Many are uncomfortable with her speaking on behalf of people she allegedly can’t relate to, and for alienating the LGBT population.
So they say: “haters gonna hate.” But instead of letting the opposing opinions dominate the conversation, the 46-year-old refuses to back down. Twitter’s 140-character count hasn’t stopped the actress from responding to the backlash.
What strikes the biggest chord with me, however, is that she’s been criticized for using the Oscars stage as a platform to make an emotional and politically charged plea. Why? Society was mum when President Obama awkwardly dropped into the 2015 Grammys (with a pre-filmed commercial, of course) to share his emotive message about rape and abuse victims. And no one’s saying anything about John Legend’s impassioned civil rights-related speech from these very same Academy Award—or at least not the right things. More people are talking about Chris Pine and David Oyelowo’s dreamy tears than Legend’s powerful words: “Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now. There are more black men under correctional control today than there were under slavery in 1850.” He’s right—and so is Arquette. So why is she the only one walking the plank? Perhaps it’s because she’s a woman, which only proves how much the world needs to keep hearing her words.
So really, who cares where Arquette says that women should be treated equally? From the Oscars stage to Twitter, this is a conversation we need to keep having until things change, and there’s no wrong place to have it. Patricia Arquette for president!
