He didn’t walk the carpet. Instead he and the Italian Queen retreated backstage until it was time to collect his award. Which he did with very little fanfare and while his explanation will be that it wasn’t his place to take over the ceremony, fair enough, at the same time it didn’t quite seem like he even came prepared. Or that he regarded the occasion with the sense of urgency for which he was being honoured. After all, he is only the fourth person to be named a recipient of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, specifically for his role in raising awareness for the displaced and misrepresented. This then was the perfect platform to continue that work, to inspire, to encourage, to engage...
Well, to me the speech was all over the place and lazy. To me he missed an opportunity once again demonstrate the leadership and intensity that earned him the recognition. To me he needs to get over it. After all, why keep the Italian Queen away from her public?
There was a backstage feed that I watched when my livestream went down during the show. The body language there was much more intriguing than what was happening in the audience. George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis held court while waiting for his moment. Julianna Margulies came by for a greeting and the two women barely acknowledged each other. George guffawed through the Ricky Gervais section, clearly delighted by the comedian, several times mentioning out loud how funny it was, and Ely didn’t know what the f-ck was going on. She can’t keep up. Best part though is that when she realised she looked like she was out of it, she started fake laughing like she was down with Gervais’s humour.
It’s the most bizarre dynamic. What must it be like at Lake Como? You can’t go for it all day. He has a bad back. And he’s not 20 anymore either. So beyond that, what could they possibly have to say? Obsessed.
Photos from Mathew Imaging/Wireimage and Kevin Winter/Gettyimages.com