The people in charge of an award named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg are calling off a ceremony that was going to honor Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch. They got a lot of criticism from the family and friends of the late justice.
Julie Opperman, the head of the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation, explained in a statement released by a spokesperson on Monday why they chose to recognize Musk and conservative media mogul Murdoch as winners of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award. They picked Musk, the founder of X, and conservative media mogul Murdoch as this year's winners of the RBG Award. The award, known as the RBG Award, is given to leaders in different fields, and this year they honored men for the first time.
Opperman said they chose leaders who have made significant contributions to society and have followed RBG's teachings on equality. They clarified that they didn't consider politics.
The foundation's chairman said they focused on leaders who have made significant contributions to society in their own way.
In a statement The family of Ginsburg criticized the Foundation's selections for the annual award, calling them an insult to her memory.
The family's statement said the Foundation had strayed far from the original mission of the award and from what Justice Ginsburg stood for, without specifying any particular winner.
The award was first established in 2020 to recognize women, and it was named after the liberal leader of the Supreme Court. Ginsburg passed away in 2020 at the age of 87.
The RBG Award was also going to be given to Martha Stewart, actor Sylvester Stallone and financier Michael Milken at a ceremony next month at the Library of Congress. However, the organizers have decided to cancel the event.
Opperman emphasized that their intention was only to remember and honor RBG's leadership, not to offend her family and friends.
The Foundation stated that over the next few months, they will reevaluate their mission and decide if and how to move forward in the future.
They will consider if there is a way to proceed in the future with minimal controversy and still bring honor and joy to the process.
