The family of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is reportedly upset with the leadership award named in her honor being given to X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch.
The awardees, which also included actor Sylvester Stallone, author and businesswoman Martha Stewart, and philanthropist Michael Milken, were chosen by the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation and announced Wednesday. Opperman was an attorney himself and friends with Ginsburg before he died. His subsequent foundation established by his family asked Ginsburg for permission to establish the award while she was still alive, awarding the first honorees in 2020.
While the award was initially slated to be given to “‘an extraordinary woman who has exercised a positive and notable influence on society and served as an exemplary role model in both principles and practice,” it has since been broadened to include men as well. The Ginsburg family issued a statement after this year’s list was announced, said that they were not consulted beforehand, and they claimed the chosen awardees were “an affront to the memory” of Ginsburg, without naming any in particular.
“Her legacy is one of deep commitment to justice and to the proposition that all persons deserve what she called ‘equal citizenship stature’ under the Constitution. She was a singularly powerful voice for the equality and empowerment of women, including their ability to control their own bodies,” the statement read. “This year, the Opperman Foundation has strayed far from the original mission of the award and from what Justice Ginsburg stood for.”
RBG Award Chairman Brendan Sullivan Jr. said in a statement that all the awardees were chosen to reflect Ginsburg’s reputation.
“Justice Ginsburg became an icon by bravely pursuing her own path and prevailing against the odds,” Sullivan said. “The honorees reflect the integrity and achievement that defined Justice Ginsburg’s career and legend.”
Out of all these awardees, Musk and Murdoch are two figures known to express their political opinions that at times differed from the Democratic-leaning justice. As a result, they are presumably the awardees the Ginsburgs disagree with. However, the statement doesn’t specifically name them.
“This recognition not only reflects my journey in the media and publishing industry but also represents the relentless defense of civil liberties and a commitment to civil discourse that Justice Ginsburg embodied,” Murdoch said in a statement. “Her unique ability to maintain friendships and professional relationships across the political spectrum was one of her greatest attributes.”
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The Opperman Foundation did not return the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
Ginsburg would have turned 91 years old on Friday.
