Watch John Legend give a heartbreakingly emotional speech about Trump’s Muslim ban
As thousands gathered to protest at various US airports, John Legend gave an emotional speech on Trump’s refugee ban at Saturday night’s Producers Guild Awards, sharing his and Chrissy Teigen’s feelings on the day’s sobering events.
Introducing his movie La La Land, Legend addressed a crowd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel about President Trump’s executive order banning all refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US.
“I won’t pretend that La La Land is a political film, but I do want to take a second to talk about what’s happening in our country right now,” Legend began. “This is a film about love, about dreams and about this lovely city we call home, Los Angles, California.”
Ignoring his prompter, Legend continued, as the emotional crowd clapped ravenously.
“Los Angeles is the home of so many immigrants, so many creative people, so many dreamers, and those of us who work in this business have the privilege of shaping how the world perceives this country we love. We are the voice, we are the face of America. Our America is big, it is free, and it is open to dreamers of all races, all countries, all religions. Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump. And I want to specifically tonight reject his vision and affirm that America has to be better than that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsH3lJRL5oI?feature=oembed
Legend also added that he and Teigen almost skipped the ceremony altogether, hoping to join in on the protest at LAX.
“My wife and I were a little bit conflicted about being here tonight when we know what’s happening in the streets, we know what’s happening at LAX and the airports around the country, but we came here tonight,” Legend explained. “But we also wanted to put our money where our mouth is, and we made a donation to the ACLU and to other organizations who are committed to fighting for freedom in the land of the free.”
Legend then wrapped up, imploring the crowd to donate to organizations like the ACLU — as many other celebrities, like Sia, Judd Apatow, Jenny Slate, and Rosie O’Donnell did on Saturday — to use their considerable power and influence for something good.
“There’s a lot of money and power in this room, and I hope you all will use it for something good,” Legend concluded. “Let’s all continue to stand up together for what is right.”
