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Palm Springs film fest resists calls to replace emcee Mary Hart following Mount Rushmore, Trump event

  • July 10, 2020
Brian Blueskye

Palm Springs Desert Sun

Facing calls to replace former “Entertainment Tonight” host Mary Hart as emcee of the Palm Springs International Film Festival gala after she appeared onstage at President Donald Trump’s Independence Day event at Mount Rushmore, the chairman’s festival says the outcry is unwarranted.

Hart, a part-time La Quinta resident who has served as mistress of ceremonies for the gala for nearly two decades, appeared at the president’s July 3 event. Hart, a South Dakota native, introduced Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and during her remarks, Hart made an “okay” sign hand gesture with both hands.

The “okay” sign gesture — in which the thumb and index fingers touch while the other three fingers are outstretched — has come under recent scrutiny as a possible signifier of white supremacy in certain contexts, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a New York-based anti-Semitism organization.

According to the ADL, members of the anonymous website 4chan started a hoax campaign in 2017 to spread misinformation about the gesture saying it symbolized “white power.” However, members of the alt-right and white supremacist groups actually began using the symbol to “trigger reactions,” the league says on its website.

“It is important to realize that the ‘OK’ gesture is a nearly universal hand gesture and most usage of it is completely innocuous,” the Anti-Defamation League continued. “Only if the gesture occurs in context with other clear indicators of white supremacy can one draw that conclusion.” 

Hart, in a statement sent to The Desert Sun, said she was unaware of any such connotations.

“A White Supremacist symbol. Are you kidding me? I would never use one and never knew that the ‘okay’ sign was anything but positive,” Hart said. “I was invited to my home state of South Dakota to introduce my friend, Governor Kristi Noem, which I did, and I was proud to be at our great shrine of democracy, Mount Rushmore. My South Dakota parents instilled in me to respect everyone and that means everyone, no matter their skin color or religion.”

One vocal critic of Hart’s appearance has been retired San Franciso television news anchor Hank Plante, who is a frequent commentator on NBC Palm Springs. (Plante served on the Desert Sun editorial board from 2014 to 2019.)

“What’s interesting to me is that she would be part of this campaign event for the most divisive political character of our lifetime,” Plante said. “A guy who used the Fourth of July speech to attack fellow Americans, and even though she’s retired from ‘Entertainment Tonight,’ she’s still a very public person. She’s the face of the film festival. Does she have a right to do that? Yes. But you’re going to pay a price if you do something like that. I learned from being on television for 30 years that I can’t do political endorsements, let alone some character like Trump.”

Others who have taken to social media to criticize Hart’s appearance at the event include former Palm Springs City Council member Ginny Foat.

Palm Springs International Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner said he had reviewed 3½ hours of footage from the event and did not take issue with Hart’s appearance.

“It is clear that Mary was there, as a native of South Dakota, to introduce her friend the governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, which she did. Mary never discussed politics and she did not introduce President Trump,” Matzner said.

Matzner added that while Hart welcomed dignitaries at the event, she never discussed politics and her interaction with Trump was limited to under a minute when she “playfully invited the president and Melania (Trump) to go fishing with her.”

Hart is a prominent personality in the Coachella Valley. Her star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars is near former Mayor Sonny Bono’s and Matzner’s stars, and last December, the city hosted a “Mary Hart Weekend.”

Palm Springs Mayor Geoff Kors, who serves on the board of the film festival, said he could not comment on behalf of the board.

Asked to share his personal reflections, he said: “I believe this was a July 4th celebration, not a campaign rally. I watched Ms. Hart’s remarks and her role was to welcome the crowd and acknowledge those in attendance including the president, his family, and other elected officials.  Ms. Hart did not make any political comments. Everyone has the right to attend and speak at any event they want, just as I want to be able to attend and speak at any event I want to attend.”

Kors added he personally “would not have attended this event” given the president’s “divisive and demeaning comments” toward immigrants, people of color, women the LGBTQ community and others.

“His speech at this event was extremely negative and was clearly an attempt to further divide our nation and appeal to the worst of people rather than the best of people,” Kors said.

Controversy over ‘okay’ gesture

At the South Dakota event, Hart made the “okay” symbol with both hands while telling the crowd, “Thank you, incredible audience. You have been here for hours!” Matzner said Hart “loves people and people love Mary,” adding that he sees her at Dodgers games “hugging and laughing with people of all racial backgrounds.”
“She spoke at all times moving her hands, that is what Mary does,” Matzner said. “At no time did she stop and display a hand signal. … I am sure that she is the most beloved reporter in the history of entertainment broadcasting.”
Members of the board of directors for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, including photographer Michael Childers, Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau President and Chief Executive Scott White, Agua Caliente tribal member and stylist Tristan Milanovich, and Desert Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Michele Finney did not respond to inquiries from The Desert Sun about Hart and the festival.Aftab Dada, president of the Palm Springs Hospitality Association, declined to comment when reached by phone on Tuesday.

David Brokaw, Hart’s publicist, sent The Desert Sun four articles on the “okay” symbol, including a Chicago Tribune article that said the gesture is “twisted by trolls” and another from Forbes that was critical of the media’s “rush to judgment” of recruits flashing the symbol at the Army vs. Navy football game in December.

On Facebook, Foat noted not only Hart’s hand gesture but also the controversial history of Mount Rushmore.

“It is not about her being a Republican or supporting Trump,”Foat wrote.”It is about her racist jesture (sic) and her participation in an event that will spread the virus and her disregard for the Native Americans whose land was stolen and objected to the event being held there. Stupid move Mary Hart.

“There will no longer be a welcome sign at our entrance.” ​​​​​

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the Keystone Black Hills. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 stated the Black Hills would belong to American Indians of the Sioux tribe. But when Gen. George Armstrong Custer discovered gold there in 1874, the treaty was revoked and the Sioux were relocated to reservations.

American Indian groups protested President Trump’s Fourth of July celebration at the site, and some called for removal of the national monument.

Trump also has been criticized for holding the July 3 event in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. There was little social distancing at the event, and few people wore masks.

Hart family’s ties to Trump

Federal Election Commission records show Hart and her husband, film and television producer Burt Sugarman, have donated thousands of dollars to Trump’s re-election campaign. They’ve also donated to several Republican candidates and incumbents.

The couple’s son, Alec “AJ” Sugarman, was a research analyst on Republican Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign and is currently a special assistant to President Trump for legislative affairs.

Matzner responded to Plante’s comments on NBC Palm Springs, saying Hart’s interaction with President Trump was “limited to a welcome Mr. President and a playful reference to fishing.”

Plante said Hart’s relationship with the film festival “puts the city in a difficult position.”

If Hart continues to emcee, he suggested, Hollywood stars might skip the star-studded gala, which normally takes place in early January and draws more than 2,000 people to the convention center. The 2021 event is due to be held in late winter due to the coronavirus pandemic and delays in Hollywood’s “awards season” calendar.

“What do you think is going to happen with all of these left-wing movie stars in Hollywood when they get invited to the film festival to be introduced by Mary Hart? What do think will be going through their minds? Hollywood is as liberal as it gets,” Plante said.