Mark Ruffalo, Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Brittney and Cherelle Griner were all honored at the ACLU of Southern California’s Bill of Rights Awards on Sunday, in a night that focused heavily on Donald Trump‘s election win and the future fight for civil rights.
Ruffalo, who campaigned heavily for Kamala Harris and is among Hollywood’s most outspoken activists, took the stage at the Beverly Hilton and admitted to the crowd, “We got our asses kicked. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but sometimes you have to spend a little time in bed before it happens. It was hard to come here, honestly.”
“The fact that we’re here says a great deal about what we all care about in this life, and I want to appreciate you all for your values and the grief and the fear that you most acutely may be feeling as well, because I know I am,” the star continued. “We suffered a great loss, it’s a loss that touches deeply on so much of what we’ve worked for and we’ve hoped for and dreamed of for such a long time now.” He then asked everyone in the room to stand to give their neighbor a hug and an ‘I love you.’
During his 20-minute speech, Ruffalo emphasized that liberal activists are “not new to this, we know what we need to do, and we are the ones to do it. We know how to do it, we’ve already been doing it, and now we just commit more deeply to each other and be open to those new people who are coming to join us.” He also encouraged compassion over snark and resisting further isolation, saying that “those who want to do us harm, we’re related to them too, and they’re related to us. We’re all part of that family, they’ve just gone wrong and forgotten who they are.”
He concluded, “I’ve felt demoralization and despair so many times along the road of all of this, and the message I keep getting is if you’re losing hope, you’re not giving enough and you’re not doing enough. Action is the very thing that pushes back despair.”
Steele — the star of Netflix doc Will & Harper, a former head writer at Saturday Night Live who came out as a trans woman in 2021 — echoed in her speech that although she is a comedy writer, “this week hasn’t been especially funny.”
Steele explained how over the last few days as she’s gone about her life, she’s questioned, “‘Who are these people and can I trust them? What do they really think of me?’ I think we’ve all been knocked off a little bit; what do Americans think of all of us?”
“I was nervous again. That scary, alienating feeling I fought so hard to overcome was creeping back in,” she continued. “But this is so not about me. This scary feeling is back for so many across this country without the benefit of white privilege, and they have real reason to be afraid. Their healthcare is under attack; their families, their doctors, their support systems, their schools, their very identity is under attack, and the attackers have just been emboldened.”
Yet Steele encouraged the crowd that instead of hiding or getting angry, the more powerful move is to show support and love to the trans community, as she added, “I promise I will regain my confidence. I will use my 15 minutes of fame to show that I care.”
Kerry Washington, Zoe Saldaña, Ke Huy Quan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Will & Harper director Josh Greenbaum were also among the stars who took part in the event, which serves as a major fundraiser for ACLU SoCal’s fights for freedom.