13 times Oscar-winners used the podium as an obnoxious political soapbox

nypost.com:

everything.Whether they’re winners or presenters, A-listers have taken to the Academy Awards stage year after year, decade after decade, to voice their opinions on matters that plague the globe, hoping to enlighten the worldwide audience on whatever issue they feel so strongly about.The prestigious Oscars podium has become a designated, glorified soapbox for the so-called Hollywood elite to chime in on controversial topics including Hollywood’s gender pay gap, oppressed people’s rights and climate change — all subjects that have found their spotlight on the Dolby Theatre stage.

This year’s star-studded ceremony — set for 8 p.m. on March 27 and airing on ABC — will surely be no different. Here are just some of the stars — including Oscar-winners Joaquin Phoenix, Patricia Arquette and (in absentia) Marlon Brando — who took the Oscars stage by storm and told the general public how they should ponder the world’s greatest problems.Former couple and liberal die-hards Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins had a wild moment at the 1993 show when they presented the award for Best Editing together.During their time at the podium, Robbins, 63, said he wanted to “call attention” to more than 200 Haitians who were being held at Guantanamo Bay. “Their crime: testing positive for the HIV virus,” he declared.

Sarandon, 75, then urged the US government to rectify the situation.“On their behalf, and on behalf of all the people living with HIV in this country we would like to ask our governing officials in Washington to admit that HIV is not a crime, and to admit these people into the United States,” the actress said.