A dull Oscar ceremony was livened up by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñarritu’s politically charged acceptance speech and the reactions of Sean Penn and Donald Trump, who sparked controversy with comments that some suggested were racist.
González Iñarritu’s “Birdman” beat out long-term favorite “Boyhood,” for the coveted Best Picture award. He also won the best director prize.
In his acceptance speech, the director took aim at the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto and alluded to immigration reform in the United States.
“I want to dedicate this award to my fellow Mexicans, the ones who live in Mexico,” Gonzalez Iñárritu said. “I pray that we can find and build the government that we deserve. And the ones that live in this country, who are part of the latest generation of immigrants in this country, I just pray that they can be treated with the same dignity and respect as the ones who came before and built this incredible immigrant nation.”
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) responded defensively to Gonzalez Iñarritu’s comments. The administration congratulated the director but claimed that it was already “building a better government,” on its official Twitter account.
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