Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, co-star of The Salesman, an Iranian film nominated for an Oscar in the foreign-language category, has said she intends on boycotting the award ceremony in protest of Donald Trump’s plan to temporarily suspend immigration from predominantly Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

“Trump’s visa ban for Iranians is racist,” wrote Alidoosti on Twitter. “Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won’t attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest.”

In an interview conducted over email, Alidoosti told The New York Times she would not attend the ceremony even if she were able to obtain a visa in spite of the ban.

“I decided not to go even if I could, because it hurts me deeply to see ordinary people of my country being rejected for what might be their legal right to have access to their children abroad or to their school classes as students,” the actress explained.

“I’m sure the United States has also benefited many times from Iranian immigrants and people who have worked there and served that country,” she added. “So it’s not acceptable to me to respect a state that does not respect the people of my country.”

The Salesman tells the story of a Tehran couple’s deteriorating relationship as they take part in an amateur production of famed Arthur Miller play, Death of a Salesman. The film’s director, Asghar Farhadi, had previously won an Oscar for best foreign language film in 2012 for A Separation.

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Source: nytlive.nytimes.com