SAG Awards: 'Very Worried' Michael Urie, Hopeful Lily Gladstone Respond to Trump Attacks on DEI Initiatives
Actors Michael Urie and Lily Gladstone are opening up about how the war President Donald Trump is waging against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives might affect Hollywood.
Both Gladstone and Urie attended the SAG Awards Sunday in Los Angeles, where they were nominated for Hulu's Under the Bridge and the Apple TV+ series Shrinking, respectively.
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'I am concerned, and I am very worried about about all of the minority groups that this administration seems to be going after,' Urie said when asked by The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet if he's concerned about how the Trump administration's stance against DEI initiatives might reverse the strides Hollywood has made in recent years in terms of representation. 'And [I'm worried] about the big corporations that are taking it in such stride — the companies that are rolling back their own DEI just because the administration has rolled back the federal DEI.'
Since Trump took office and signed executive orders directing federal agencies to terminate all 'equity-related' grants or contracts and requiring that federal contractors not promote DEI, companies like Disney, Google, Amazon, Meta, Target and PepsiCo have all made changes to their DEI practices, with some corporations abandoning their diverse hiring goals completely.
'It scares me,' Urie said. 'It worries me, because I've been so proud of what we've been doing these last few years in terms of all of the DEI, and they've just turned it into a big old joke, and it sucks. We all seem to be in a bit of shock right now. There's so much coming at us that we don't know what to do.'
#Shrinking's Michael Urie shares his thoughts on what the Trump administration rolling back on DEI could mean for representation in the entertainment industry. pic.twitter.com/e9aFTJwNS7
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 24, 2025
The actor went on to share his thoughts on how those who oppose Trump's views on DEI initiatives can fight back.
'There are a lot of people hurting right now, and I don't know what to do,' Urie said. 'And I know most of us don't, and I think once we do, once it becomes clear, how do we fight this? How do we combat it? We've got to be ready. We all have to brace for it.'
Gladstone, however, is hopeful that Hollywood will continue to tell diverse stories.
'I feel like Hollywood, of course, is an amalgamation of storytellers and we reflect the stories that audiences want to see,' Gladstone told THR. 'America is a big DEI experiment. We are an incredibly diverse nation, always have been, and I think storytellers are going to represent what the people want to see.'
The Oscar-nominated Killers of the Flower Moon star, who won a SAG Award in 2024 for her role in the Martin Scorsese film, went on to share how Trump's second term may actually lead to more creativity and diversity in Hollywood.
'When there's something to resist, a lot of times it turns up the creativity,' said Gladstone. 'The flame to create and tell the stories gets a little bit hotter. So I'm really looking forward to seeing how beautiful the moments of transcendence and resistance are that come out of our artists over the next however many years.'
#UnderTheBridge's Lily Gladstone shares what they anticipate the entertainment industry response will be to the Trump administration's rollbacking on DEI programs pic.twitter.com/xQh6zKl2mV
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 24, 2025
A federal judge on Friday largely blocked Trump's executive orders that aimed to end government support for DEI programs, as the judge found that the orders likely carry constitutional violations, including against free-speech rights.
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