London, October 4: Actor George Clooney on Friday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 100% tariff on all overseas-produced films, saying the approach would not solve the problem of Hollywood job losses.
Speaking at the annual Albies Awards ceremony, which he and his wife Amal created to honor global human rights defenders, Clooney said California’s film industry jobs are leaving the state “because we don’t have proper tax incentives or rebates like you do in New York.”
“If Trump wants to implement a federal incentive that would match the kinds of incentives we get in Louisiana and New Jersey and New York, then I think that would make a big difference in helping out,” Clooney added.
The Albies Awards recognized several prominent figures for their humanitarian and social impact work. Honorees included Melinda French Gates for championing women’s health and gender equality; former Washington Post and Boston Globe editor Marty Baron for media leadership; and Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, for creating a billion-dollar social bond to stabilize non-profits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other honorees were Fatou Baldeh, an advocate against female genital mutilation, and Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Zamora, recognized for three decades of reporting on corruption.
