In descending order of absurdity, the five honorees this year are: Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Milken, and Martha Stewart.
Seriously?! Yes, I am afraid so.
The award has been given annually since 2019 by the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation, and was established to “recognize an extraordinary woman who has exercised a positive and notable influence on society and served as an exemplary role model in both principles and practice.” Previous winners were Barbra Streisand, Diane Von Furstenburg, and Queen Elizabeth II.
The Foundation—set up after the death of Mr. Opperman, who was the CEO of West Publishing Company and a Trustee of NYU Law School for many years, as well as a personal friend of the Justice—issued a press release announcing the award that breaks new ground in tone-deafness. E.g.,
“Justice Ginsburg became an icon by bravely pursuing her own path and prevailing against the odds,” said Brendan V. Sullivan, Jr., chair of the RBG Award. “The honorees reflect the integrity and achievement that defined Justice Ginsburg’s career and legend.” [How, exactly?]
“Regardless of Elon Musk’s stratospheric accomplishments, in receiving the first RBG Award for Entrepreneurship, Musk’s focus is clear and unwavering: ‘Free speech is the foundation of democracy,’ Musk said.”
“Rupert Murdoch, the most iconic living legend in media, will be bestowed with the Media Mogul RBG Award. Murdoch said: ‘This recognition not only reflects my journey in the media and publishing industry but also represents the relentless defense of civil liberties and a commitment to civil discourse that Justice Ginsburg embodied'”
You could come up with a less appropriate list of honorees—but not easily. It is truly unbelievable. Not that the Foundation might want to bestow awards on incredibly rich white guys; as the saying goes, “I was born on a Tuesday, but it wasn’t last Tuesday,” and I understand how this game works. But that nobody stopped and said “Um, maybe this won’t look so great”? Or “Maybe we should go for the only-one-incredibly-rich-white-guy-a-year strategy”?
I know both of RBG’s children—record producer James and law professor Jane—and I was wondering how they would react to the news. Their reaction came over the weekend in a public announcement: “An affront to the memory of our mother” and “an insult to her name and legacy,” and a demand that her name be removed from the award. Sounds right to me.
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