Celebs: try philanthropy, not earnest speeches, for change

Awards season looms - and that means viewers must once again brace themselves for a tidal wave of earnest speechifying.

- FLIC EVERETT

“Who am I wearing? Valentino - and I call on all of you to fight climate change.

Not a ceremony can pass without some actor haranguing their captive audience on everything from Trump to trans rights, Putin to Palestine. Of course, they have a coveted platform from which to address millions, and a strong sense of social justice - thanks to their liberal-arts majors and organic diets - so why shouldn't they be applauded for using it?

Well, enter the clear-sighted little boy from The Emperor’s New Clothes, in the shape of actor Claire Foy, who starred in The Crown as the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“I have absolutely no authority to discuss or proclaim about anything other than what I do as an actor,” she told Harper's Bazaar, with frankly unprecedented self-awareness for a successful thespian. “If you’re just making noise for the sake of it, then you should probably shut up.”