By Carlos Santoscoy
On Nov. 25, the Board of Film Independent, the not for profit organization that produces both the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, announced the resignation of Los Angeles Film Festival Director Richard Raddon after it was revealed that he had given $1500 to the Yes-On-8 campaign. Raddon has become the latest casualty of a post-election Proposition 8 Hollywood war of retribution.
Gay activists have been protesting the passage of Proposition 8 – the California Constitutional amendment that yanked back the right of gays and lesbians to marry in the state – since Election Day.
And that new “no more Mr. Nice Gay” mentality appears to be taking root in Hollywood, where many believe that there is no room for anti-gay bigotry in an industry that promotes itself as a proponent of diversity and employees a large number of openly gay and lesbian people.
Raddon's first attempt to resign was met with an unanimous rejection by the board, but the controversy would not die down. Resentment simmered as people inside and outside of Hollywood pointed to the group's explicit mission to promote diversity.
“Is it OK to let this go?” distributor Howard Cohen, an advisor to the film festival who is gay, told the Los Angeles Times after the board rejected Raddon's first resignation attempt. “There are a lot of gay people who work at Film Independent. The issue has not been closed.”
Director Gregg Araki, long considered a favorite among gay cult film fans for such gems as Mysterious Skin, agreed Raddon should walk away.
From On Top Magazine
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