Hollywood star George Clooney circulated a petition supporting free speech rights within the industry as Sony Entertainment was dealing with a cyberattack from a group linked to North Korea — and no one signed it.
In an interview with Deadline Hollywood on Friday, the movie star said that his petition was met with silence.
“This is not just an attack on Sony. It involves every studio, every network, every business and every individual in this country. That is why we fully support Sony’s decision not to submit to these hackers’ demands,” the petition reads. “We know that to give in to these criminals now will open the door for any group that would threaten freedom of expression, privacy and personal liberty. We hope these hackers are brought to justice but until they are, we will not stand in fear. We will stand together.”
Mr. Clooney would not name the individuals who refused to sign the document, but said that not doing so was tantamount to giving in to ransom.
“With the First Amendment, you’re never protecting Jefferson; it’s usually protecting some guy who’s burning a flag or doing something stupid. This is a silly comedy, but the truth is, what it now says about us is a whole lot. We have a responsibility to stand up against this,” Mr. Clooney said, Deadline Hollywood reported.
Sony Entertainment pulled its Dec. 25 release of the Seth Rogen comedy “The Interview” as a response to the cyberattacks, and Paramount pictures banned theaters from showing the 2004 movie “Team America” in its place.
“Nobody took that stand,” Mr. Clooney told Deadline Hollywood. “Now, I say this is a situation we are going to have to come to terms with, a new paradigm and a new way of handling our business. Because this could happen to an electric company, a car company, a newsroom. It could happen to anybody.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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