The Oscars take place Sunday evening, as actors, directors, composers, and costume designers vie for a coveted golden statue. And it’s likely many celebrities will use their stage time to champion political causes, as we’ve seen from Joaquin Phoenix about diversity in Hollywood, and Robert de Niro when he lambasted President Trump in a fiery Tony Awards speech. But many Oscar nominees and Hollywood A-listers are also putting their money where their mouth is and padding presidential campaign coffers.
According to FEC filings, last year Best Actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio donated $2,800 to both Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, who are no longer in the race. Best Actress nominee Scarlett Johansson also made a $2,800 donation in 2019, to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Tom Hanks, who is up for Best Supporting Actor, donated $1,400 to Joe Biden last year, while Best Director Oscar nominee Martin Scorsese donated $1,200 to the Directors Guild of America PAC.
Randy Newman, who was nominated for Original Score in “Marriage Story” and Best Original Song for “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4,” donated $25,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund. This PAC hasn’t endorsed any presidential candidates yet, but did endorse Warren in 2018 in her Senate run.
Oscar nominees didn’t just donate large sums. Laura Dern, who stands to win the Best Supporting Actress award for “Marriage Story,” only gave $25 to Marianne Williamson, her former roommate.
Hollywood loves Bernie
The Dolby Theatre will also be packed with many more Hollywood actors and actresses who have donated to their favorite candidates.
Of the more than 2,000 donations in 2019 from those who self-identify as an actor, 28% went to Bernie Sanders. The Sanders camp has film heavy-hitters like Susan Sarandon and Danny Devito in its corner. Ted Levine from “American Gangster” and the TV show “Monk” also donated to Sanders, while Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, also donated. Each made donations that were over $2,000.
Pete Buttigieg was another Hollywood favorite, pulling in 18.6% of the donations made last year. Mayor Pete is being supported by Sharon Stone, Alyssa Milano, Frances McDormand, George Takei, Michael J. Fox, and Kevin Bacon, among many others. All made donations over $1,000.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden didn’t fare as well as the other two frontrunners, pulling in 14.9% and 2.1% of this group’s total donations, respectively. Warren supporters included Amy Schumer and Better Midler, as well as Rosie O’Donnell. Biden fans included Tom Hanks’ wife and actress Rita Wilson, as well as George Takei, who also donated to Buttigieg’s campaign.
Andrew Yang was far more popular than Sen. Amy Klobuchar, bringing in 2.7% of the total donations made. Klobuchar only brought in 0.5%. Millennial actor and star of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” Noah Centineo is a member of the Yang Gang, donating the candidate $2,700. He was joined by David Arquette and Nicolas Cage, who gave $1,000 each.
Not all donations made to Andrew Yang were in cash; comedian and actor Dave Chappelle performed two show in South Carolina for the candidate. Tickets sold for $128 a seat.
Snubbing Trump
And if Hollywood A-listers love the Democrats, it might come as no surprise that they haven’t been supporting the incumbent, Donald Trump.
According to FEC filings, no A-listers support Trump, save for Sofia Vergara’s ex-husband and businessman Nick Loeb. The president did, however, pull in 5% of all donations made by people who identified as an actor.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who announced his candidacy in the final quarter of 2019, received no donations from any actors.
Kristin Myers is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
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