The planned Washington, D.C., gala for the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award — set to honor Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Milken, Martha Stewart, and Sylvester Stallone — has been canceled, according to the Opperman Foundation, which was organizing the event. The cancellation comes after the family of the late Supreme Court Justice objected to Murdoch and Musk receiving the awards.
Objections to Murdoch and Musk being named as awardees were raised by Ginsburg’s children, James Ginsburg and Jane Ginsburg, as well as former Ginsburg clerk Trevor Morrison. The trio argued that the proposed honorees did not align with the principles espoused by the late Justice.
The initial focus of the award was to honor “an extraordinary woman” each year, a tradition from which the Opperman Foundation this year when it selected male honorees without conferring with the Ginsburg family. It remains unclear whether the selected honorees will still receive awards in the absence of the ceremony, as the foundation has made no further information available. The drama surrounding the awards caused the Library of Congress to dissociate itself from them, stressing its role as only the planned venue.
Ginsburg’s family primarily objected to the selection of Murdoch and Musk due to political reasons. Murdoch is the founder of NewsCorp, the parent company of Fox News. Musk is known for his stalwart defense of free speech and promotion of right-wing causes. “I think she’d be appalled,” James Ginsburg said in an interview. “When you think about trying to create a more just society, which, of course, was mom’s ultimate goal, those are probably about the last names that would come to mind.”
