An Oscar Statement About Marriage Equality

When stars parade down the red carpet at Sunday's Oscars, it's anticipated that at least a few of them will be wearing white ribbons.

While recent displays of such a fashion accessory stir very little controversy -- red ribbons to mark the AIDS crisis, pink to symbolize breat cancer research --- the white ribbons will symbolize support of same-sex marriage, one of the most polarizing issues in the ongoing culture wars.

According to Frank Voci, who spearheaded the WhiteKnot.org campaign, Anne Hathaway has said she will wear a ribbon, along with some members of the team behind "Milk." (Sean Penn has a ribbon, but Voci said he's been told that the star often doesn't decide until the last minute). All of the major nominees have been sent the ribbons, along with "publicists and agents and studios and production companies, all with an extremely warm reception," Voci said.

"They all get the poignant timing and the March 5 court date," he said, referring to the day that the California  Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on whether to overturn Proposition 8, which passed last November and bans same-sex nuptials in the state.

Dave Grohl and Dave Stewart wore them at Grammy events a few weeks back, and Hathaway wore hers to the inauguration of President Obama.

A digital media entrepreneur who was part of the team that launched CNET, Voci started WhiteKnot.org shortly after Prop 8 passed. After watching a week of protests and demonstrations in West Hollywood and elsewhere, Voci said he thought, "We really need something that we can take anywhere. I wanted something peaceful that was easy for people to do."

He created Whiteknot in November, with a board that also includes publicists Bill Harrison and Melissa Zukerman  and reality television producer Davis Mikaels, and has been sending and handing out the ribbons to anyone who wants one. He estimates that about 20,000 to 30,000 have been given out so far, and 500 or more have been given away for the Oscarcast.

Obviously, the idea is to get at least one or two names to wear one at an award show, and the trend snowballs. That's what happened back in 1991, when the group Visual AIDS handed out the inverted V red ribbons for stars to wear at that year's Tony awards, symbolizing awareness of AIDS at a time when the disease still carried a heavy stigma. The trend quickly spread to the Emmys, Grammys and Oscars, to the point where they became ubiquitous not just at ceremonies, but even at non televised events or even average Joes on the street.

While the white ribbons also are a means of polite protest, they also evoke a bitter, polarizing electoral battle, the subject of continued demonstrations and threats of boycotts. While Proposition 8 supporters in entertainment were few and far between, they do exist. Ironically enough, at the Grammy party, photographers snapped a picture of Grohl, ribbon on his lapel, chatting up Pat Boone, a vocal supporter of Prop 8.

The Oscars have a tenuous history with stars making political statements: They are at once frowned upon, but also provide some of the most memorable moments in a telecast. After Michael Moore shot off on the impending war in Iraq in 2003, emcee Steve Martin quipped, "It was so sweet backstage, you should have seen it. The Teamsters were helping Michael Moore into the trunk of his limo."

If a star wants to make a statement, there's not much they can do to stop it.

Voci said he hasn't asked any star to make any political statement, just to wear the ribbons. So far, he hasn't encountered any resistance from producers or the Academy, although he is waiting to hear whether he will be allowed to take a spot on the red carpet to hand out the ribbons to those he may have missed.

"What people have told me is that if individuals want to wear them, they are not going to stop them," Voci said. "But if it is an organized protest, that is not going to fly."

Even if nothing at all is said about the white ribbons on the telecast itself, there will be enough commentary or red carpet coverage to give the accessory a great level of exposure.

"By showing the ribbon, they are showing their own personal support," he said "That is my goal... It is a great platform to get it out there, to keep this in the consciousness."