Actor George Clooney has described the
fight for gay marriage as “the final leg of the civil rights
movement.”
The 50-year-old Clooney will play lead
attorney David Boies in the Los Angeles reading of the play 8.
8, which was written by Milk
screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, is based on the trial over the
constitutionality of California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.
The 13-day trial held last year in San
Francisco resulted in federal Judge Vaughn Walker, now retired,
declaring the ban unconstitutional. Proponents of Proposition 8
appealed the ruling, and gay and lesbian couples in California remain
barred from marrying.
The Broadway premiere of the event
raised over $1 million for the fight to win marriage equality.
Speaking to E!
Online Thursday at the Critics' Choice Awards at the Hollywood
Palladium, Clooney reiterated his support for marriage equality,
calling it “the final leg of the civil rights movement.”
“I think the world is changing and
it's become less and less of an issue and I think it shouldn't be
long now,” Clooney said. “I think younger people are looking at
this like, 'Who cares?'”
“I do believe it's generational, much
like the civil rights movement. Young people started taking to the
streets and things changed. This really is the final leg of the
civil rights movement.”