Protesters Urge Steven Spielberg to Boycott MoMA Over Leon Black’s Epstein Ties
Activists rallied at the museum ahead of a benefit for the Debra and Leon Black Family Film Center, decrying the board member’s Epstein connections and his pro-Israel support.
Twenty protesters gathered outside the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on November 12 to urge Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg to withdraw recognition from board member Leon Black at the museum's annual benefit. The feminist group We Are UltraViolet distributed a letter to Spielberg, calling for a boycott until MoMA severs ties with Black and renames the Debra and Leon Black Family Film Center.
Black, a former CEO of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, is under scrutiny for his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He paid Epstein $158 million for financial advice from 2012 to 2017, and Black stepped down as MoMA's board chairman in 2021 but remains a trustee. The incident intensified public scrutiny in September when the US House of Representatives voted to hold Black in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with Epstein-related subpoenas.
Playwright and theater artist Gracie Gardner, who posted an open letter to Spielberg, expressed disgust at the museum honoring Black.
Written by urgent.news from Hyperallergic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
