The old adage remains true: When your elders speak, you hush up and listen. In the case of 85-year-old entertainment legend Harry Belafonte, all eyes and ears were at attention when he called out the younger crowd in the industry—most specifically Jay-Z and Beyonce. The civil rights activist/crooner was the recent recipient of the Golden Leopard Honor Award at the Locarno Film Festival, which recognized his contributions to political activism as an actor. Yet, when Belafonte spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the honor, he didn't mince words about other celebrities who he feels fail to do their part in society.
"They have not told the history of our people, nothing of who we are," Belafonte said. "We are still looking. We are not driven by some technology that says you can kill Afghans, the Iraqis or the Spanish. It is all – excuse my French – s**t. And I think one of the great abuses of this modern time is that we should have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities. But they have turned their back on social responsibility. That goes for Jay-Z and Beyonce, for example." Clearly, Mr. Belafonte is not happy with the image of minorities in today's Hollywood, but does he have a point?
