Mia Farrow is not eating and not for the shallow maddening reasons that actresses generally avoid solids. I am concerned. I'll let her do the talking from her 21 day hunger strike... Today is the ninth day for me with no food, only water. I am still protesting the expulsion of humanitarians from all of Sudan (including, of course, the Darfur region and the refugee camps). Please call the White House (202-456-1111) and tell President Obama to help get humanitarian groups back in Sudan.While I'm fully aware that desperate ploys like hunger strikes can garner media attention, Steve McQueen's Hunger is too fresh in the mind for this not to give me nightmares. Call me selfish but I don't like to lose great actresses before it's absolutely necessary to do so. Farrow's current standing in cultural hierarchies of movie stars is very low -- people don't talk about her -- but that rich filmography full of great performances will raise public regard after her eventual death. It would have to. That said: that eventual death doesn't need to arrive anytime soon. She's only 64.
Gabriel Stauring is quoted in the LA Times:There’s no way she can go that long without doing permanent damage. We want to convince her that if we have somebody else that is famous and that would draw attention, that she should stop.I don't mean to be glib or disrespectful -- I hate it when civilians trash über rich celebrities for trying to improve the world, an impulse that's totally part of the Bitch Pleeze snark phenomenon that we're all guilty of from time to time -- but can't Mia just do what other actors do and use movies as her soapbox? I'm not well versed in the disheartening situations in Darfur and Sudan. I've never called the White House before but I'm tempted. I'm also tempted to cook her omelettes and grilled cheese sandwiches (the extent of my culinary skills) and messenger them her way every day until she starts eating.
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