Portman calls for action at Hollywood women's luncheon

Natalie Portman took a flamethrower to the patriarchy. George Clooney admonished what he called the Trump administration's culture of fear. Emma Gonzalez implored people to vote. And host Jenifer Lewis spared no one, from Melania Trump and Kanye West to Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh.

Nothing was off the table at Variety magazine's Power of Women luncheon held in Beverly Hills on Friday, almost exactly a year since The New York Times and The New Yorker published accounts from dozens of women alleging sexual misconduct by the once-powerful movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Weinstein, who has denied any wrongdoing, was quickly ostracized by the entertainment industry, which helped gain momentum for the #MeToo and Time's Up movements.

Tiffany Haddish arrives at Variety's Power of Women event on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan StraussInvisionAP)

In a commanding 15-minute speech, Portman addressed the underrepresentation of women in all industries and laid out guidelines to incite change, such as donating to Time's Up, opting against depicting violence against women in films and hiring women for positions they're not typically considered for. She was being recognized for her humanitarian efforts in co-founding Time's Up, a legal defense fund that was created following the rise of the #MeToo movement to address and combat inequality in the workplace.

The Oscar-winning actress was being recognized for her humanitarian efforts in co-founding Time's Up.

"Be embarrassed if everyone in your workplace looks like you," Portman said.

Lena Waithe arrives at Variety's Power of Women event on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan StraussInvisionAP)

Portman said Weinstein is "still free" because "our culture protects the perpetrators of sexual violence, not its victims." She added that the Time's Up defense fund has served more than 3,500 people from "workers at McDonald's to prison guards to military personnel to women in our own industry who have faced gender-based harassment, coercion and assault."

"Recently our lawyers helped Melanie Kohler triumph against Brett Ratner and his lawyer Marty Singer...who tried to use Brett's enormous financial advantage over her to try to bully her into silence," Portman said. "Because of our lawyers ... he dropped his case of defamation."

Regina King, an honoree supporting the I Have a Dream Foundation, followed Portman saying "Man, Natalie Portman 2020."

Regina King arrives at Variety's Power of Women event on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan StraussInvisionAP)

Portman was not the only person to get a standing ovation Friday. Eighteen-year-old Emma Gonzalez, who became a nationally recognized advocate for gun control after surviving the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, also brought the well-heeled Hollywood crowd to their feet.

Advocating for March for Our Lives, Gonazelz, wiping away tears, said to the women in the vast ballroom at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, "You know that you are forces to be reckoned with. You can and have inspired peace and understanding and most importantly right now, you can inspire your audience to vote. Now more than ever, women need to continue to rise up."

Gonzalez was introduced by George Clooney who announced himself as "Amal's husband." The audience, in turn, cheered. Clooney struck a more serious tone in discussing a time where fear is capitalized on — "fear of Muslims, fear of immigrants, fear of minorities, fear of strong women."

Emma Gonzalez arrives at Variety's Power of Women event on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan StraussInvisionAP)

"Are we really scared of all the things that actually make America great? And if the answer is yes, then we'll have history to answer to," Clooney said. "After all the jokes, and insults, and reality show frenzy, what will be remembered, what will stand the test of time is holding responsible these wolves in wolves' clothing."

Everyone who took the stage got a word in for a cause they were passionate about. Honoree Lena Waithe, there for The Trevor Project, said Time's Up has had a huge impact on her life in the past year.

"I've befriended so many women I probably would have never even met or had a reason to speak to, and I can't remember a time in this industry when women have huddled together. We've all gotten on the same page," Waithe said. "I wish it didn't take something so tragic to bring us together. I wish trauma in the workplace and sometimes at home wasn't the thing we had in common. Luckily we have refused to be victims. Luckily we've refused to be silent. Luckily we've decided to rise up and scream at the top of our lungs and become a force of rebels who won't be treated like second class citizens."

Gina Rodriguez arrives at Variety's Power of Women event on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan StraussInvisionAP)

The event, presented by Lifetime, with sponsors such as Audi, Morocco Oil and The Venetian Resort, also honored Tiffany Haddish, who spoke about the non-profit The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company and Participant Media CEO David Linde for helping to make female-focused films from "Roma" to "RBG."

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr

Tarana Burke arrives at Variety's Power of Women event on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan StraussInvisionAP)

Gina Rodriguez, left, and Regina King arrive at Variety's Power of Women event on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan StraussInvisionAP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)