Mila Kunis named Woman of the Year by Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Mila Kunis is being honored with a parade and roast at Harvard University after being named a school theater group's Woman of the Year, but not everyone is celebrating. Some female students at Harvard are hoping that Kunis will reconsider accepting the award.
The "That '70s Show" actress is being honored Thursday by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals. The group calls Kunis one of Hollywood's "most sought after, vivacious, and engaging actresses." The Ukraine-born actress earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role in 2010′s "Black Swan." She also starred in "Bad Moms" and is the voice of Meg Griffin on "Family Guy."
Hasty Pudding is the nation's oldest collegiate theatrical organization. It's been naming a Woman of the Year since 1951 but in recent years it's come under fire for excluding women from performing in its annual shows. Instead, they have men perform in drag for female roles. Some women are auditioning for the shows in protest and hoping Kunis will speak up against the policy.
"I think if we continue to put pressure on them, both within Harvard and in the media, they will eventually have to change," Harvard senior Liz Kantor told CBS Boston. Kantor is among about 20 women who auditioned for this year's show as a form of protest, an idea started by two women in 2015. Each year, the women have promptly been cut.
Women can instead take behind-the-scenes jobs, including writing the shows or working on the technical crew, the group says on its website.
When Amy Poehler accepted the honor in 2015, she made a crack at Hasty Pudding's expense.
"You know it's time for a change when the Augusta National Golf Club has lapped you in terms of being progressive," Poehler said at the time, referring to the Georgia club's 2012 decision to admit women.
