Politics shines in Oscar spotlight

It was a show aimed at honoring excellence in film, as “Birdman” was named Best Picture, but political talk dominated some of the most memorable moments from the 87th annual Academy Awards.

{mosads}Host Neil Patrick Harris noted the controversy surrounding the lack of diversity among nominees in the award show’s top categories. The first line he delivered to laughs from the audience: “Today we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest — sorry, brightest.” In the acting categories, “The Theory of Everything’s” Eddie Redmayne snagged the Oscar for Best Actor, while “Still Alice” star Julianne Moore took home the golden statue for Best Actress.

Patricia Arquette received some of the strongest reaction on social media as she called for wage equality while accepting the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Boyhood.”

“To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America!” Arquette exclaimed during her acceptance speech. Many House Democrats took to Twitter to applaud Arquette following the entertainer’s remarks.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote:

Amen! “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all in the United States of America.” – Patricia Arquette #Oscars #WomenSucceed

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 23, 2015

Lawmakers were also quick to weigh in, following singer John Legend and rapper Common’s Best Original Song win for their powerful tune, “Glory,” from the civil rights era film, “Selma.”

“We say that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now,” Legend told the crowd. “We know that the Voting Rights Act that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised in this country today. We know that, right now, the struggle for freedom and justice is real,” the Grammy Award winner, an outspoken supporter of President Obama, said to applause.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), responding to a Twitter user, wrote:

Yes, he spoke truth from the heart RT @JCNoble41 did you just hear John Legend at the Oscars ?

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 23, 2015

But lawmakers remained mum during other parts of the nearly four-hourlong awards show. Laura Poitras thanked former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden while accepting the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for “Citizenfour.”

“The disclosures that Edward Snowden revealed don’t only expose the threat to our privacy, but to our democracy itself,” Poitras said of the government leaker. “When the most important decisions being made affecting all of us are made in secret, we lose our ability to check the powers that control. Thank you to Edward Snowden for his courage and to the many other whistleblowers.”