Eva Longoria is among a select group of celebrities who have received extremely generous $50-$100 million “Courage and Civility” awards from Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez in recent years — but who have not said anything publicly about the billionaire Washington Post owner being condemned for “cowardice” over his highly controversial decision to censor an endorsement for Kamala Harris days before the Nov. 5 election.
As recently as March, Longoria praised Bezos and Sanchez for their “courage and civility” after she received her $50 million prize, to be shared with nonprofits of her choice. With the Washington Post now in crisis, she and other celebrity beneficiaries of Bezos’ largesse — Van Jones, José Andrés and Dolly Parton — have not even expressed “disappointment” about the billionaire’s decision to not let his editorial board take a stand against Donald Trump.
It’s understandable that these celebrities aren’t the first people many would think of when seeking a reaction to Bezos’ decision, which has prompted some 200,000 readers to cancel subscriptions over concerns that the billionaire wanted to appease Trump in case he wins the election.
US actress Eva Longoria speaks on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept the party’s nomination for president today at the DNC which ran from August 19-22 in Chicago. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
But perhaps Longoria, Jones and the others should weigh in, given that they participated in Bezos and Sanchez’s efforts to brand themselves as global arbiters of “courage” when they launched their award in 2021. With the award, the power couple have gained lots of positive media coverage by handing out multimillion awards to other famous people, who are supposed to turn around and distribute the money to worthy causes.
In 2021, Bezos and Sanchez bestowed $100 million “Courage and Civility” awards on Jones and to Andres, founder of the esteemed, Nobel Prize-nominated World Central Kitchen. In 2022, their generosity benefitted singer Parton’s philanthropic endeavors with $100 million.
In certain ways, Longoria’s silence stands out more than the others. Like Jones, Longoria is a high-profile supporter of Harris, but the “Desperate Housewives” star also spoke about her friendship with Harris at the Democratic National Convention in August, saying that she and the vice president recognize the need of women to “have each other’s backs.”
Rewind to March, when the actor and activist donned a sparkly black gown at a gala in Washington, D.C., to tearfully accept the “Courage and Civility” award and to effusively thank Bezos and his fiancée, who appears to be a good friend.
Longoria told Elle that she would share her $50 million gift with her eponymous Eva Longoria Foundation. Longoria established the nonprofit in 2012 to “help Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship.” Longoria also supports Evas Heroes, a group that supports the special needs community and on which she serves as a director.
At the awards ceremony, according to a clip Sanchez shared on Instagram, Sanchez praised Longoria as a superhero, and Longoria spoke in a very inspiring way about the value of supporting Latinas, saying that investing in women leads to stronger families, communities and, ultimately, nations.
“To Lauren and Jeff …I thank you for seeing me and our work,” Longoria continued. “I hope I can do so with the kind of courage and civility that you are both known for.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 05: (L-R) Eva Longoria and Lauren Sanchez attend ELLE’s 2023 Women in Hollywood Celebration Presented by Ralph Lauren, Harry Winston and Viarae at Nya Studios on December 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for ELLE )
Unfortunately for Longoria, her “courage” compliment to Bezos and Sanchez hasn’t necessarily aged well in light of recent events.
The Washington Post erupted in turmoil late last week after the paper reported that Bezos had ordered its editorial board to kill its endorsement of Harris, 11 days before the election.
Longoria did not respond to requests for comment from this news organization about Bezos’s decision. The phone number for the Eva Longoria Foundation, listed in public financial statements filed with the IRS, is no longer in service. Efforts to reach Jones, Andres and Parton for comment also were unsuccessful.
But as Longoria remains silent on the Bezos decision, Sanchez appeared to be speaking on her friend’s behalf — in a way. On Instagram Story, she shared an image of a column Bezos published in the Washington Post Monday, defending his decision, followed by an image that promoted Longoria’s appearance on “Good Morning America” and her new Mexican cookbook.
As for the Washington Post, it remains in turmoil, according to the Daily Beast. Veteran Post contributor Robert Kagan and columnist Michele Norris resigned over the weekend, while retired executive editor Marty Baron said on X: “This is cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.” The Pulitzer Prize winner added that Trump “will see this as an invitation to further intimidate” Bezos, and that the move represented “disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”
Washington Post legends Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein also issued a joint statement, saying this decision so close to the election “ignores the Washington Post’s own overwhelming reportorial evidence on the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy.”
The decision also ignores the fact that the Post has been endorsing presidents since 1976, associate editor Ruth Marcus pointed out. Under Bezos, who purchased the Post in 2013 and gave it the “Democracy Dies in Darkness” rebranding, the paper previously endorsed Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in their campaigns against Trump, whom the Post called “the worst president of modern times.”
Bezos defended his decision as a matter of principle in his column, saying that ending presidential endorsements ends “a perception of bias.” He also defended his record as owner, saying he never let his business interests affect editorial decisions, a point that Baron acknowledged in an interview with the New Yorker.
Bezos also denied there was any “quid pro quo” to kill the Harris endorsement or that he hoped to benefit his Blue Origin company under a Trump administration. The world’s second richest man only expressed regret that his usual business savvy apparently escaped him because the decision wasn’t made sooner — “in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it.” He admitted to “inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.”
Baron dismissed this justification from Bezos, saying such decisions aren’t made soon before the election, with the draft endorsement ready for publication. “If they had decided three years ago, two years ago, maybe a year ago that they didn’t want to do presidential endorsements or political endorsements of any type, that would have been a perfectly fine decision. One can agree or disagree, but that’s not what happened here.”
