Hollywood star Brad Pitt has been criticised for a joke about Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in his acceptance speech at the Oscars. The 56-year-old star took a jab at the US Senate for not subpoenaing John Bolton, a former member of the Trump administration, who served as national security advisor. "They said I have 45 seconds, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week. I’m thinking maybe Quentin [Tarantino] does a movie about it. And in the end the adults do the right thing", Pitt said.
Some netizens didn’t appreciate this comment, with some saying the actor should stick to acting and leave politics to experts.
Others accused the actor of using his speech to express his political views.
Some reminded the actor that the House of Representatives did not allow the Senate to question Eric Ciamaramella, who is reportedly the alleged whistleblower that filed a complaint against President Trump that started the impeachment proceedings.
A few netizens said that the star’s joke had ruined the show and they quit watching it.
Others were downright angry and said they no longer love the actor. One user wrote: "I thought he had brains as well as looks. What a disappointment".
Pitt won the Oscar for best supporting actor beating out such Hollywood heavyweights as Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hanks, and Joe Pesci. The 56-year-old recently revealed he personally writes his speeches after rumours emerged that the actor resorted to the help of speechwriters, who helped him pen down some of the jokes he made during recent film awards. Pitt insisted he wrote down all the speeches although he admitted that he was helped by “very, very funny friends”.
"Historically, I’ve always been really tentative about speeches, like, they make me nervous. So this — this round, I figured if we’re going to do this — like, put some, like, some real work into it and try to get comfortable, and this is the result of that. I definitely write them. I have some funny friends. I have some very, very funny friends that helped me with some laughs, but, no, it’s, you know, it’s got to come from the heart", Pitt said.