Jean Smart has suggested that awards ceremonies should be postponed due to the current Los Angeles wildfires.
READ MORE: Soundtrack Of My Life: Jean Smart
Awards season kicked off at the weekend with the Golden Globes, but thanks to the spate of fires around Los Angeles – the most destructive in the region’s history – changes to the awards calendar are already being made.
There are currently five separate fires still burning and nearly 180,000 residents of LA county have been told to evacuate. At least five people are known to have died.
Numerous celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, Adam Brody and Leighton Meister are known to have lost homes in the fires.
Now, the Hacks star has called for awards ceremonies to not be televised and revenues donated to victims of the fires as well as firefighters.
“With ALL due respect, during Hollywood’s season of celebration, I hope any of the networks televising the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have garnered to victims of the fires and the firefighters,” the actress wrote on her Instagram account.
Already there has been significant disruption to the film and television industry. Several film premieres, including for Better Man and Unstoppable, have been called off.
There have also been changes to future awards ceremonies. The Critics’ Choice Awards have been postponed from January 12 to January 26 “due to the catastrophic fires”, organisers said in a statement.
The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony has been postponed from January 12th to January 26th due to the catastrophic fires ravaging Southern California.
The rescheduled event will remain at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and will broadcast live on E! and… pic.twitter.com/wCNQrszS54
— Critics Choice Awards (@CriticsChoice) January 8, 2025
Meanwhile, the Oscars nominations have been delayed. The Academy announced a two-day extension to the nominations voting window “to give members more time to cast their ballots”, with the announcement of the shortlists now set for January 19.
The BAFTAs Tea Party – a US networking event held ahead of the BAFTAs – was meant to take place on Saturday (January 11) but has been cancelled.
Filming of various shows has been suspended, including for Hacks. Other shows affected include Loot, Ted, Suits: LA and Happy’s Place.
Yesterday, Star Wars legend Mark Hamill was evacuated from his house in Los Angeles.
The actor shared a personal update on his Instagram account on the evening of January 7, saying “Personal Fire Update: 7pm – Evacuated Malibu so last-minute there (were) small fires on the sides of the road as we approached PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)”. He also shared his wife Marilou, dog Trixie, and himself had arrived safely at their daughter Chelsea’s home in Hollywood.
Academy Award winner James Woods posted on X (formerly Twitter) about evacuating his home, which he fears he may have lost to the blaze. “It feels like losing a loved one” he remarked before adding in another post “it tests your soul, losing everything at once, I must say”
Marvel actor Chris Pratt posted praise for the firefighters and first responders trying to deal with the fires. “You are true heroes, and we are endlessly grateful for your sacrifice and courage” the Guardians of The Galaxy star wrote. President Joe Biden tweeted about the fires, urging residents to follow local officials’ advice.
The post Jean Smart calls for awards ceremonies to be postponed in wake of LA wildfires appeared first on NME.
