Backlash Over £76,000 Goody Bag For Celebs At 2022 Oscars
The Oscars goody bag has been criticised online amid the Ukraine crisis.
Social media users are criticising the goody bags set to be gifted to this year's Oscar nominees.
The 2022 Academy Awards will take place on Sunday 27th March at Hollywood's iconic Dolby Theatre, and ahead of the biggest red carpet event of the year, the company behind the goody bags this week unveiled a sneak peek of the free stuff VIP attendees will go home with.
Each gift bag is worth an estimated $100,000 (£76,000) and includes a curated collection of goodies, detailed in full in The Hollywood Reporter: Among other things, each recipient will be given an entire plot of land in Scotland and liposuction body 'enhancements'.
Distinctive Assets is not associated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences or the Oscars ceremony, but an "Everyone Wins" gift bag is given to the nominees in the major categories. This includes Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Actress and Best Director.
The founder of Distinctive Assets, Lash Fary, told The Hollywood Reporter the point of the bag was to "celebrate these incredible nominees but also a return to normalcy in a post-pandemic world."
However, many Twitter users were left seriously unimpressed by the value of the gifts, with one person calling the goody bag a "disgusting display of wealth".
They added: "Giving £76,000 goodie bags to the already overly wealthy. Just think all those goodie bag expenses added up how much good the could really do. #Oscars".
A second person asked: "The Oscars are an obscenity, a spit in the face of global poverty. Are any Hollywood A-listers pointing this out and refusing their goody bag?"
Another person tweeted: "The Oscars Goody Bag has been announced.... What happened to the gift of a pen and a stress ball?"
One said: "Why give people who already have loads of money and stuff more stuff? It's gross. It's a rhetorical question. Please don't try and justify it to me."
Some questioned whether the cash value could be better spent elsewhere as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, leading to the displacement of 10 million people.
"This Oscars goody bag is worth £76,000 and includes a plot of land in Scotland. They all need to give the £76,000 to Ukraine," another Twitter user urged.
On the other hand, some social media users defended the goody bags and wondered if there was a way they could get one, despite not being nominated themselves.
"Anyone know how we can get a ticket to the Oscars?" said one Twitter user.
Another person quipped: "I want an Oscars goody bag. I want one now. #Oscars".
While a third social media user had a more serious take on why people shouldn't be outraged about the gifts. "Laughing at the people thumping their chests saying 'This year the money should have gone to the people of Ukraine' and I'm just sitting here like... people have been in desperate need all over the world EVERY YEAR. But this time they're white so your panties are in a twist."
When approached for comment by Tyla, Distinctive Assets founder Lash Fary, said: "First and foremost, 'Twitter users taking offense to something' is like saying the sun rose today.
"Second and more to the point, I wonder how many of these 'disgusted' Twitter users have quit their jobs and closed their businesses in response to the Ukrainian crisis?
"Far from a display of wealth, our endeavors [sic] are simple marketing...and my personal source of income. Aren't television commercials still airing and Instagram ads still popping up in our feeds?
"Despite perpetual bad news globally, it's also an important form of self-preservation and self-care to carve out a little room for the fun, festive, and fabulous.
"If we stopped living our lives every time there was a crisis somewhere in the world, the global economy would collapse."
The nominees who will be offered a goody bag include major stars like Olivia Colman, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Will Smith, Kristen Stewart, Denzel Washington, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Academy has also been approached for comment.
Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, Oscars
Gregory Robinson