Helen Mirren Clarifies Artists' Role After Israel Criticism at Taormina Film Festival
By
Melanie Goodfellow
Baker's choice. Dense with flavour, light on filler.
Summary
Helen Mirren, while at the Taormina Film Festival, made headlines for criticizing Israel's treatment of Palestinians as "crimes against humanity." The following day, she clarified her stance in a conversation with students, arguing that artists should not be viewed as political figures or politicians, despite expressing political opinions.
Key quotes
· 2 pulledArtists are not political animals. We're not politicians, Politicians are politicians. Artists are not politicians.
Her comments came less 24 hours after uncharacteristically public critical comments about Israel, in which she suggested its treatment of Palestinians was tantamount to 'crimes against humanity'.
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