US actress Sigourney Weaver puts her hopes in presidential candidate Kamala Harris and speaks about strong women in Venice. Then she starts to cry.
US actress Sigourney Weaver has expressed her support for Democratic US presidential candidate Kamala Harris. “We are all so excited for Kamala,” said the 74-year-old in Venice. “It has been a difficult time since 2016 and we are all very grateful for her.”
Weaver was presumably referring to the 2016 US election, when Donald Trump was elected president. The next presidential election in the US will take place on November 5. A journalist asked Weaver at a press conference in Venice whether she believed that films could help someone like Harris become president.
Weaver, who became famous with the film classic “Alien”, has been praised several times for the pioneering work she has done for women in the public sphere – with complex female roles that did not rely on clichés. Visibly moved, the acting icon thanked everyone for this in Venice and said: “So many women come to me and thank me…” before her voice broke and she began to cry.
“Excuse me, I need my vodka,” she joked afterwards, before drinking from a water bottle. “People always ask me why I play ‘strong women’. My reaction is always: That’s such a weird question. Because I just play women. And women are strong, and women don’t give up. You know why? Because we can’t afford it. We have to do it.”
At the opening of the film festival this evening, Weaver will receive the Golden Lion for her lifetime achievement.
