Actor George Clooney plugged his new Broadway play that lionizes the press in its efforts to hold people that have power in government accountable.
Hollywood liberal George Clooney promoted his new play on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday night, saying it lionizes journalists during dark times in U.S. history.
The Democratic Party donor strongly hinted at the play being timely for the Trump era, despite trying to avoid saying it directly.
Colbert sarcastically asked, “Why do you think it’s a good idea to bring back a play right now about a man in journalism who is standing up against both corporate and political interests?” Smiling, Clooney replied, “Yeah, it’s a weird thing, isn’t it?”
Mentioning himself and his father – who’s a journalist – Clooney told Colbert, “We’ve always believed in the idea of, when the other three estates – the judiciary branch and the executive branch – when they all fail you, you really need that Fourth Estate.”
The play, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” features Clooney starring as CBS News anchor Edward Murrow in his Broadway debut. Based on the 2005 film of the same name, the upcoming production centers on Murrow’s reporting on the McCarthy era and the anti-communist investigations in the U.S. government at that time.
The actor told the late-night host that he co-wrote the screenplay for the film version 20 years ago in response to taking heat for opposing the Iraq War.
“I was being called a traitor to the country for being against the war in Iraq. And they put me on a deck of cards and called me a traitor and stuff… Yeah, that was a deck of traitors, remember?”
“Wow,” Colbert responded. “Yeah, I’m really proud of that,” the actor added with a smile, sparking laughter in the studio audience.
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He went on to talk about the importance of the press in America, especially when the government is hostile to it.
“Forever, we’ve had this issue which is power kind of hates the Fourth Estate. It hates journalism.”
Clooney added that he feels the play portrays Americans at “our best” in terms of journalists striving to tell the truth against stiff opposition.
Colbert chimed in: “Well, sometimes you are at your best when it is a very dark time, because that’s when you have to be your best, and this was in the height of McCarthyism.”
“You’re never at your best when it’s easy,” Clooney said. “That’s why it’s called courage,” the host added.
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“Being on the right side of history is not fun in the moment when you do it. It’s nice later…” the actor continued. Colbert remarked, “And everyone thinks they know how they’d behave during rising fascism… until the pressure’s on them.”
Finally mentioning the Trump era explicitly, Clooney mentioned how prosecutors came out “very strong” against the Trump administration “in the last week.”
The actor then admitted he had been playing coy about mentioning Trump in the context of his Broadway production, telling the CBS host, “We’re kinda talking around what’s sort of the giant elephant in the room.”
He went on to mention how you win some and lose some in U.S. elections, prompting Colbert to ask him how he felt about the 2024 election. Mocking hardcore MAGA supporters, the actor quipped, “Well, I don’t know. What am I supposed to do? Storm the f—— Capitol?”
“It didn’t work out. That’s what happens,” Clooney said, striking a conciliatory tone over the election results. “It’s part of democracy.”
