‘Greatest Mistake of Our Time’

Pedro Almodóvar used his dais at the Film at Lincoln Center stage Monday night, where he received the Chaplin Award, to share a political message slamming Donald Trump. The Spanish Oscar-winning “Talk to Her” and “The Room Next Door” filmmaker dedicated the award to trans actress Hunter Schafer, the “thousands of deportees in recent weeks,” and Harvard University, all of whom have faced scrutiny under the Trump administration.

“I doubted if it was appropriate to come to a country ruled by a narcissistic authority, who doesn’t respect human rights,” Almodóvar said of traveling to the U.S. to accept the Chaplin award. “Trump and his friends, millionaires and oligarchs, cannot convince us that the reality we are seeing with our own eyes is the opposite of what we are living, however much he may twist the words, claiming that they mean the opposite of what they do. Immigrants are not criminals. It was Russia that invaded Ukraine. Zelensky is not a dictator, Putin is. Hunter Schafer, Zendaya’s wonderful co-star in ‘Euphoria,’ is a woman even if her passport says she is male.”

Trans star Schafer previously spoke out about her identity being mislabeled by the latest mandates imposed by Trump.

Almodóvar continued, “Mr. Trump, I’m talking to you, and I hope that you hear what I’m going to say to you. You will go down in history as the greatest mistake of our time. Your naiveté is only comparable to your violence. You will go down in history as one of the greatest damages to humanity… You will go down in history as a catastrophe.”

As for international politics, Almodóvar reflected on being raised in Spain under fascist ruler Francisco Franco — a time of great restriction that gave way to an era of liberation that Almodóvar’s films represent strongly. “It is impossible to explain what that feelings of absolute liberty meant for a young person who wanted to make films,” Almodóvar said of starting his career in the late 1970s. Now, he is “very worried” about the current state of the nation.

“As you may know, there is a power outage that is affecting the whole country. So my thoughts are with everyone impacted by this situation,” he said of the blackout that yesterday affected most of Spain and Portugal.

Almodóvar concluded with the dedication of the Chaplin honor, saying, “I am immensely grateful and feel privileged to receive this award, which, given the circumstances, I dedicate to the thousands of deportees in recent weeks, to the beautiful Hunter Schafer, as well as to Harvard University for its determination not to surrender to Trump’s war on knowledge and culture, which must remain the best point of reference.”