PHILADELPHIA — Actress Sigourney Weaver has already basically played Hillary Clinton on TV—and at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, she urged her fans and fellow Americans to help put Clinton in the White House.
Weaver—Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ franchise, and star of ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Galaxy Quest,’ and most recently Pixar’s ‘Finding Dory’—addressed the convention hall from the main stage shortly after 7:30 p.m. local time, directly following Martin O’Malley, Clinton’s former rival in the primary.
Weaver delivered a brief speech on her pet political issue: climate action, and climate change’s devastating impact on communities and the environment.
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“Can Donald Trump look these people in the eye and tell them that climate change is a hoax?” Weaver asked rhetorically. “That he doesn’t care about their pain?”
“Hillary Clinton, she gets it—she cares,” the 66-year-old Hollywood icon continued, stating that Clinton understands that “taking a stand against climate change, it’s not about politics—it is about our moral obligation to one another, and to our children, and to the generations who will one day inherit this beautiful earth.”
Weaver ended her segment by introducing a short video on global warming directed by her Hollywood colleague and collaborator James Cameron.
Weaver has been calling for climate action for a long time now. For instance, she has bylined op-eds on the topic, emphasizing that “for our children’s sake, we must act on climate change.” Over the years, she has donated to Democratic candidates such as Barbara Boxer, Tim Kaine (now Clinton’s VP pick), and Ted Kennedy.
Weaver has also advocated for more women in positions of political power, so it’s only natural she would quickly jump on board with Team Hillary this year.
“Why’s ambition considered unattractive for us but not for a man?” she said in 2012. “Women speak right out. From the heart, not a prompter. We’re not in this for ego or power. We can work together. Ask questions nobody asks. Roll up our sleeves, don’t intimidate, get things done in a different way. I know. I’m a mother.”
“With 50 percent of the population, only 15 percent of us are in Congress,” she continued. “I wouldn’t go into politics myself, but I’m definitely a feminist. Feminism is natural. Business as usual isn’t working. A female’s needed to stir things up, get our country moving again. This stalemate in Washington can be broken by a woman.”
Four years on, Sigourney has found her female in Hillary.
