Bernie Sanders’ Hollywood Supporters Stage Another Protest At Democratic Convention
Hillary Clinton flexed her Hollywood show biz muscle Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, with Meryl Streep, Alicia Keys and an all-star music video touting her candidacy for president.
On Wednesday evening here, erstwhile Hollywood backers of Bernie Sanders struck back with a press conference in which they aired the latest grievances of the defeated Vermont Senator.
Sanders appeared to bow out gracefully Tuesday, coming to a microphone on the floor of the Wells Fargo Center to offer a unanimous slate of delegates from his home state in support of making Clinton the first woman persidential nominee of a major party. But one day later, Sanders’ fierce acolytes — including Susan Sarandon, Shailene Woodley, Danny Glover and Rosario Dawson — told more than 100 members of the media that Sanders had been wronged one more time, even as he capitulated to Clinton’s insurmountable delegate lead.
It seems that certain unknown powers in Hillary World told a Sanders delegate that she could only speak at the convention, and put Sanders name in nomination, if she agreed to make a conciliatory statement praising the former First Lady. the delegate, Nina Turner, declined to make the pro-Clinton Statement. She was then summarily banned from appearing before the convention’s 6,000 delegates and a worldwide television audience.
“It was a very upsetting incident, it shouldn’t happen,” Sarandon decried. “If it were Beyonce, they would’ve made it work.”
Sarandon, Woodley and Co. also weren’t so sure how enthusiastic they could be about supporting Clinton in the fall campaign against Republican Donald Trump.
“There are a number of things that she hasn’t been clear about and hasn’t convinced me,” Sarandon said of Clinton. “I’ll wait and see if there are any shifts.”
The 69-year-old Sarandon was making just the latest in a string of critical comments about Clinton, dating back many months.
The Oscar-winning star of “Thelma & Louise” has said that Clinton “is more dangerous than Donald Trump and that people should stop pressuring women into voting for the Democratic presidential candidate just because she is a woman. And on Tuesday, she tweeted, “Don’t blame us if (Clinton) loses to Trump. He did what you wanted.”
Turner, the former state senator from Ohio who emerged as one of Bernie Sanders’ most passionate champions, said she was barred by Clintonistas from even taking the stage Tuesday night. “They would not allow it,” Turner said. Turner has been one of the most outspoken foes of recently ousted Democratic National Chair Debbie W. Schultz.
Reporters outnumbered Sanders demonstrators at the press conference and many of the media seemed confused about who Turner was and why the Q and A session was being held. The Sanders delegate stood nearby, also inside the giant media tent, but she did not speak or join her Hollywood defenders on stage.
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