Politics March 10, 2017
When you’re having a baby with George Clooney, not many people want to hear you talk about genocide.
Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney gave a powerful speech to the United Nations but most of the media just focused on reporting her baby bump instead. Or her yellow dress, matching coat and marriage to George Clooney.
TIME, for example, Tweeted a caption highlighting her “baby bump” instead of her message at the UN.
And to make matters worse, the article began by introducing Amal as a “mom-to-be” and George Clooney’s wife before even mentioning her accomplishment as an international human rights lawyer. It reads:
The mom-to-be (who also happens to be married to George Clooney) stepped out outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, showing off her baby bump in a dark gray pencil skirt and matching cropped blazer.
But what is arguably the saddest thing is the fact that this article was published on TIME Motto, a platform aimed at younger women. Apparently these are the kind of headlines women want to see, right?
Many people immediately responded to the Tweet, shaming TIME for not focusing on the point of Amal’s message.
TIME has since changed the headline to read “Amal Clooney Addresses United Nations on ISIS” but unfortunately, TIME wasn’t the only publication that disappointed.
E! News headlined their article with, “Amal Clooney Shows Baby Bump in What Could be the Ultimate International Women’s Day Poster.” Mirror chose a headline that reads, “Amal Clooney is a vision in yellow as she shows off hint of baby bump in chic dress.” And Entertainment Tonight settled for, “Amal Clooney Stuns in Yellow While Delivering Passionate Speech at the United Nations.”
But regardless of what the media chose to focus on, it was an important day for Amal Clooney.
In case you missed it, Clooney was at the UN headquarters in New York on International Women’s Day to speak at an event called “The Fight against Impunity for Atrocities: Bringing Da’esh to Justice.”
Her speech warned the UN to not let ISIS “get away with genocide.”
“I am speaking to you, the Iraqi government, and to you, UN member states, when I ask: Why? Why has nothing been done?” she asked. “Don’t let this be another Rwanda where you regret doing too little too late.”
Amal Clooney currently serves as a barrister for Doughty Street Chambers in London and she represents clients before the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. On top of that, she has been the senior adviser to Kofi Annan when he was the United Nations’ diplomat for Syria. In addition, she’s served on Britain’s team of experts on preventing sexual violence in conflict zones.
But when she married George Clooney in 2014, she was put under his limelight, making headlines for her red carpet gowns at Hollywood award shows and premieres.
Thankfully though, Amal Clooney hasn’t let that stop her. She’s far too busy for that.
