new york, happy holidays and merry christmas to all and to all a good night. i am craig melvin, george clooney is the first to be nominated in six oscar awards. his true passion is working as a global humanitarian. headliner takes a look at the human rights activist and the megastar. >> twice named the sexiest man alive. >> when george enters the room, you know it. everybody turns and the room

lights up. >> one of the country's most out spoken star. >> we have a demagogue in the white house. >> he will put himself in the light of fire. he shows up in a big way. if we do nothing there is a good chance that hundreds of thousands of people could die. >> some said he should just stick to acting. >> let me tell you something of george clooney. he's stunningly misinformed. >> if people want to come out and say hey, it is a bunch of liberal balogney i have to take .t in heants to make a movie that he wants to make and he will start it for free. >> but, what impact will he have. >> the world's policy on sudan is failing. >> are we really going to be scared of the very thing that made our country great? ♪

george clooney is an oscar winning hollywood super star more than two decades. hollywood is a town that runs on power and right now clooney is at the pinnacle at his power. >> hi. >> clooney, a global humanitarian who works to prevent genocide for more than a decade. today find himself add odds with president trump's national agenda. >> from this day forward, it is going to be only america first. in an era when hollywood, could

clooney's influence there be threatened? >> under president obama, he can go to the white house and now it is loss. most people don'thi of george clooney as being a patriot but this man is a big beliefer and what it means to be an engaged citizen. >> do you work for fox? >> no, i don't. >> his wife amal clooney is an international attorney who addresses the united nations. he works alongside her husband to solve human rights issues and trouble spots around the world and refugee camps. >> we are thrilled to be here because we believe of what the public has addressed this. >> together they are the golden

couple, they are an influential global force with an national agenda and with america's first directed. clooney have been out spoken of donald trump since the beginning of his candidacy. >> you called him a facteci ous. >> we have to be afraid of everything and minorities and muslims and minority. >> in the lead up to the election, clooney helped raise $15 million for hilla clint which the trumpampaign used to cast the democrats as the party of hollywood elites. >> the only people enthusiastic about her campaign are hollywood celebriti celebrities, in many cases,

celebrities that are not very hot anymore. >> trump rallying voters against celebrities who turned to politics and getting involved in activists. it is to rich to comprehend. >> we welcome the hollywood walk of frame, donald trump. the election of former reality show host raises the likelihood that clooney's work on global humanitarian issues may fall on deaf ears inside the white house. >> i don't know whether donald trump could find sudan on a map, you know, i don't know he knows what happens in places therefore. >> i think what george clooney is saying is hang on, there are things that's wrong with america. if we want the benefit of globalization, you got to be able to bear the burdens. george clooney understands that engagement with the world is critical to our security and we

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george clooney's roots are firmly planted in red state america. >> donald trump has made such success painting liberal elites as the enemy. he came for money and he came from a wealthy family from queens. one interesting irony a painful irony for george clooney is he

maybe, he really was born into a heart land kentucky. >> born in lexington, kentucky, 1961, clooney is the second child. a local news anchor and a stay-at-home mom. >> thank you very much for the report. we apologize for some of the technical problems we had. >> i had a little card that they would put up saying we are experiencing audio difficulties please standby. we had a call and i woke up and he woke up and had larigitis and never had it before. his dad was one of the most famous men in kentucky in the southeast, he's the nephew of an extremely well known cindy rose

clooney. he was expos to people who had a measure of phfame. >> his father, nick clooney, was hugely influential in the way he saw the world. >> my father raised me that i have to look for people and that's your job and if you don't do that, you fail. >> we are here on earth to help those who have less power than me than to challenge those who have more. >> the star outfielder unsuccessfully tried out for the cincinnati reds and complete two years of college and dropped out of 1981. that's where he made a pivotal move in los angeles and pursued his acting career. clooney starts at the bottom and success for years. >> a guy from kentucky, sleeping

on his friend's couch and worki working his way through hollywood. he's a small town guy. >> he did a bunch of pilots, all which failed. people talk about that as if that means clooney was not that good. if you keep on getting pilot deals at a network, that means you are a celebrity and they are waiting to find the right thing for you. >> a decade after he moves there, the city erupts in violence. the lessons he learned from his father in kentucky are not loss on clooney in la. >> i said go buy some brooms and buckets and help with some fire. >> that was the first real sense of where you can rally some troops together and get a lot of people and shathey'll show up. after the riots subside, clooney shoots the pilot for a new

medical drama called "er." i credit a lot of his early success of a speech that george made in his trailer. i am the veteran of 22 failed pilots. i don't know what makes one but i have a theory. we are all going to be nice to each other and we'll take our work seriously but we are not going to take ourselves seriously and there is not going to be division of foreground and background and we'll work hard and play hard. we were all just -- we are young enough and naive enough to go okay, george, whatever you say. >> more than 35 million people watch "er" each week and george clooney is a stand out star. >> year two, i write these special episodes for george clooney and so i thought, i will put him in a tuxedo and have him save the kid and make him an action hero.

he takes his tuxedo coat off and climbing fences and he got the suspenders and in the water and he was kind of like almost like a james bond type hero but with a kid, saving that kid's life and it sparked people's imagination about the rain and the talent of george. >> but, as clooney's success expands to exclude movies, his personal life -- after the a crash that killed princess diana, clooney called for a press conference. >> you bought and paid for the one of the greatest news. the princess of wales is dead and you have gone on television and washed your hands and placed blame and deflected

responsibility. you should be ashamed. thank you. >> this is about a period of time where we lost somebody who i really p liliked and admire. i look at the situation and i say if i don't say it now and ence encapsulate of what we are doing. my father thinks i should do it. my father calls me and says, don't come back and look at me in the eye. >> in response, the premier of his film "the peacemaker." >> clooney finds himself on the defensive. >> i got famous from doing a television show and not being photographed byelf empd photographer or by people who take ptures and sell them. >> i am showing up to the premier and do my job. people have to be responsible.

defending the paparazzi as hard as it was. now, they're mad and they're saying that i am trying to make them unemployed by getting rid of tabloids. when i am going to the bathroom and a guy comes in and take a picture of me going to the bathroom and i pull him back and take his camera and take his film out. i draw the line for my privacy going to the bathroom. that's where i am going to draw. everybody has their limits. coming up. >> you look like the kind of democrat who could pull up a win. he had this dark family secret which is his son is george clooney.

have you seen any previews the film yet? no, i have not seen it yet. i don't want to screw it up. >> sexiest man alive. >> that man in 1997. the film "bat man and robin" is at the box office. >> it is demonstrated again with

"bat man and robin." here is a guy best known for his good looks and they put him in a mask. >> he learned more from the failure of "bat man and robin" than any actor could have learned. >> it was the hardest thing. >> well, there is things about this that's fascinated. >> i enjoyed the costume. >> yeah, that's good fun. >> oh gosh. >> famous for his practical joke on the set of "er." he's one of hollywood prolific pra pranksters. >> he told a story of brad pitt's name on it. it was called "acting in foreign languages." he brought the book and writes a note, dear meryl streep, i found this book.

i love brad pitt. off to meryl streep. >> it is a great joke. >> what was it like working with mark wahlberg. >> i don't care for him. >> he leaves "er" in 1999. a renewed sense of purpose, paving way for a string of clooney classics. >> seriously. >> you might as well do it in our own terms and pick the films that you want to do. for a limited time you get to do -- so when i have to come out and talk about them, i don't have to be embarrassed. by summer of 2001, clooney is a bona fide movie star of his biggest hit, "ocean's seveleven and the station is devastated by 9/11. clooney organized a star set telethon that raised

$150 million for the united way. >> we are citizens and everybody wants to contribute. it sparked a feud with fox news anchor bill o'reilly accused united way and by extensions of clooney of in properly distributing i. >> i am not saying anybody stealing it. it is in the bank getting interests and while most of the families don't know what's going on. >> you know how these celebrities are. he's stunningly misinformed and he had no clues what's going on. >> you said he's stunningly misinformed. >> i like that guy. >> clooney responds to o'reilly in a letter, nothing's short of

a lie. >> he started to use facts that were not true of the fun calling it a fraud. >> the two sparred again when clooney organizes another telecom of the 2004 tsunami. >> it has also rekindled a battle between two of america's best known personalities, one that has been simmering since 2001 telethon for victims of 9/11. >> the actor invites o'reilly to participate in the telethon and the former fox anchor accep raising $18 million. later that year, clooney tried to clarify o'reilly's attack. >> he drives you nuts. >> it hurts us because people cancel the checks and it makes a difference and it hurts us.

it hurts the acredibility of the united way. >> clooney benefits the victims of the haiti earthquake without attacks on bill o'reilly effectively ending their public back and forth. it is not the first time clooney has been a target for conservatives. a few years early when he speaks out against the 2003 iraq war. he faces an on slot of ak occasi accusations >> however, if i am going to demand the right of freedom of speech you cannot then say but don't say bad things about me. you got to take me your hits, i am a grown up. if people want to come out and say hey, that's a bunch of liber liberal balogney that's thrown in there. i disagree because i feel like

lets have those questions asked. the personal attacks hit closer to home in 2004. that's when his father runs for congress in kentucky and is faulted for his son's political view. >> this is kentucky. the time where nick clooney did a rally. you have people that are not alone, they have ten commandments and sculpture on the loan. you will could not find people saying a bad word about them. luke like the kind of democrats who could just pull off a win in that kind of southern district. he had this dark family secret which is his son of george clooney. >> i remember nick clooney saying that he was sort of painted as a celebrity, as a hollywood type coming to kentucky, that really bothered him. >> it must be tough getting your own father being hammered for being your father. >> you said you could not campaign for your own father in

kentucky because you thought you heard his cause. >> coming up -- >> there is no conservative or liberal point of view, there is only right or wrong. it is the first genocide of the 21st century. when heartburn hits fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum tums chewy bites.

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richard lui, with top of our stories. people all over the world is celebrating christmas tonight including our soldiers at afghanistan. and it was not santa's sleigh but skiers are getting a little bit of a welcome site when rescue helicopters came down. they were suspended by 80 feet off the ground. at least 150 people were tavar e rescued. now, back to "headliners."

american troops are fighting on two fronts in 2004 as president bush went to second term, george clooney speaking out against the war in iraq and challenging journalists to speak truth to power. >> they got every right to do so but what we seem to be hearing from them is a lot of wining and complaining and griping. they want to get into the kitchen but cannot stand the heat. >> clooney responds is the film "good night and good luck." my father is an an corman, i grew up with the idea of how great it is. >> he felt that political correctness reached the crescen crescendo. >> we do this every 30 or 40 years, we get a little scared, you know?

we get beat up by somebody and we start to worry. >> it is his most critically acclaimed film nominated and best screen play at the oscars. but, clooney wins that year in another category. best supporting actor. >> it was a tough look at geo political issues. >> he made this film because he wanted to shine a light of what he saw of the untold story that opens people's eyes of what's going on much part of the world. >> what's going on in western sudan is genocide. >> thousands of guys are starving and they are fleeing a campaign of ethnic cleansing and a recent publicity of little is being done to stop it. >> genocide have been committed

and as the governor of sudan, we bear responsibility. >> i just returned and shortly there after i got invited to have dinner with george clooney who, i am a human rights lawyer, i don't think i have seen many of george's movies. >> i was late to the game. maybe we got to get over there and see what goes on and take the camera. >> clooney chronicles his efforts in a documentary. "a journey to darfur." >> i did not want to bring any security or entourage. >> 29,000 survivors of the massacre in sudan. the problem of the government,

wants to kill everybody. >> it is the first of seven trips clooney will make to the region. >> there is no time. no business and no time. we'll need some plastic and water this moment and at this exact moment. the government of sudan is systemically trying to get rid of a race of people. >> i had many of them coming back. he will sit down with folks and he will relate to them one on one. >> this is not something that most people can do and going to a culture that's completely foreign to your own with extreme danger and just treats someone actually one on one so that they feel heard. this little tiny wave of a girl, little elf of a young woman came over and she said to me in

arabic, when will you come back and when will you stop this? and, i told the translator to tell her we'll be there soon. she laughed and said that's what you always say. was not even sad, she's just, that was life for her. it is not a political issue. there is no right or left or conservative or liberal point of view, there is only right or wrong. it is the first genocide of the 21st century. >> the more pain i think he witness and internalize was energizing for him and for us to go out and try to raise help. there is hope. there is you. >> all of you here. of u. church groups and students and

all of you speelking with one voice. this created -- he puts his life on the life to do it. this was america and america's moral responsibility in the world. >> in a bipartisan gesture, they are invited by george w. bush and clooney's optieratives. i want to thank george clooney on situations, they made their powerful and important statements. i appreciate that ambassador bolton's willing to do this.

it never happened before. >> how can a hollywood star makes a difference ton the world's stage. hollywood evolves in some way bringing attention to a lot of issues. we have been doing it for a long time. we are fairly getting cameras to show up so you try to be informed on some of the issues that you take on. >> whatever h thaeat john bolton may have taken for bringing the actor to the security council. i can tell you meeting of the united nations council have been carried live, i can think of a couple of examples. one of which when george clooney talking about sudan. >> it cannot be why should americans care. that's what we are, we are human beings, we have to look at absolutely cruelty and say that if there is something we can do about it, we have to stop it. are we going to stand back and

somehow try to convince ourselves that we did not know? >> we do. >> clooney is named the united nation's messenger of peace in 2008. he brings is campaign to the oba obama's white house. >> i met with the vice president and i urged him to make the change. the whole world knows that the government of sudan is a murderomurde murderous barbarian. >> coming up -- >> when people ask you, where were you, where did you stand? i want to say i stand on the right side of history. you can have almost a spiritual experience with the beauty of nature or with a connection with the past. there's no better place to find that than a national park,

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clooney's five year campaign, progressed in 2011. referendum for which he lobbied th sudan. >> peoe had never believed they would get the opportunity to vote or whether or not they'll become a nation. >> there is this powerful full of excitement in the air that you can feel the birth of a nation and the will for it. >> people were dancing in the streets for weeks in south sudan because they had their own country. history does not end, unfortunately. >> despite the referendum, violent continues. the region between sudan and

south sudan draws clooney back for another visit in 2012. >> it gets to you and you get to know people. if you are lucky enough to born in the place or the family and road that i have been born and you can to share with those people. >> this trip brings clooney closer to the act of war than ever before. >> there is 150 people come out and all of a sudden everyone just starts running. >> okay, we'll move and we'll go. >> that just sailed over there. everybody is going to their caves to hide. >> it was close enough to feel and close enough to wake you up. >> in an attempt to rally congress, senator john kerry, calls on clooney in 2012 to the about sudan. >> these people every single day

of their lives have to deal with fears and not just in the future of starving to death but actively being killed. >> fortunately, they are hearing consequences that's taking place everyday and nobody knows it. >> so george guaranteed that if the tree fell, it is going to be heard. it was. >> clooney, a human rights activist decides to use the power of his celebrity to focus on the immediate attention. >> i remember getting calls, look, i just talk to george clooney and he is willing to get arrested and we'll do it. >> clooney, his father and a group of congressman and activists all blocked the door of the zunis.

>> we are here to ask the government stop randomly killing them and stop raping them and starving them. that's all we ask. >> blocking the entrance to the zunis embassy gets clooney arrested. >> at one moment in time when people ask you where were you, where do you stand? i want to say i am standing on the right side of history. his hands are banded together. back to kentucky, we call this friday night. >> i said yeah, i leave him alone for a few hours and look at what happens. >> clooney pays $100 fine and a misdemeanor charge crossing the line is disposed. >> two years later, the newest country in the world, divisions within the leadership all

because of corruption were too much to bear and they went to war at each other. >> after the collapse of the south zunis government, clooney forming a organization called "the sentury." we say lets create a nonprofit organization that digs into the finance of this work and chases the money and assets. where ever they hide it, we'll fine find it. >> george clooney helps save lives and he's drawn attention and influence. >> coming up, no question george clooney was a catch. >> no question amal was a catch as well. nacho?

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despite his humanitarian work over seas, in hollywood, george clooney is still a bona fide movie star. hisilms are not always -- he occupies a status. >> in 2007 and 2011, he received oscar nominations for his roles and as well as his adapted screen play and he won best producer for "argo." >> clooney is the only person who's nominated in six different categories. he's nominated for supporting actor and original screen player and director and producer. >> with the collection of homes

around the world, george clooney's long time friend, builds side by side which then featured in architecture digest. the two buddies accidentally created their own brand tequila. >> as you do, when you spend time in mexico you drink a lot of tequila. george said, why don't we make our own? cut to a few months later. we met with the distillery and told them what we wanted. it took about two years to perfect. i think it was 700 bottles later. we tried it. it was absolutely perfect. >> they name their brand casamigos, house of friends. it becomes the fastest growing tequila company in the world. and then -- >> listen up. george clooneynd company's brand has been sold for upwards

of $1 billion. >> in a statement, clooney said, we're not going anywhere. we will be very much a part of the company, starting with a shot tonight, maybe two. >> his financial life, secure. there's a significant romantic shift in 2013 for the 52-year-old george clooney. >> all of a sudden he was just head over heels and smitten. it was really kind of cute to see george as this giddy teenager. >> no question, george clooney was a catch. but no question, amal was a catch as well. oxford educated, attorney, practiced 15 years at the highest level. this is a first rate legal mind. >> i believe in international justice. i believe it's important you don't just turn the page without people being held to account. >> partnership between amal and george is extraordinary because

they reinforce each other. amal asked really penetrating, interesting questions that make george and i think about the work we're doing. >> in italy, the wedding that some thought would never happen, george clooney tieing the knot with amal, a british human rights lawyer. >> it was something really special. it was close family and friends of amal and george. it was absolutely beautiful. >> clooney, for so long, one of the biggest pranksters in hollywood, suddenly finds himself the butt of trophy husband jokes at the 2015 golden globe awards. >> amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the enron case, was an adviser to kofi annan and was selected for a u.n. commission investigating rules of war violations in the gaza strip. tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award. >> i just wanted to know, what

did you think of tina and amy's jokes about the achievements your wife achieved and you are getting the award. >> i didn't think that was a joke. >> two years after their wedding, the 2016 presidential campaign rose increasingly contentious, especially over immigration. >> donald trump called for a total ban on muslims entering the united states. >> in berlin, the clooneys meet with angela merkel to discuss the refugee crisis. >> mrs. merkel has been leading the global response to the refugee crisis. it's important to give recognition and support for what she has done. it's important to take a message back to the u.s., which they wanted to do. >> they also sit down with a group of syrian refugees. >> my own family is from lebanon. they also ran away from a war. i hope that as you say you will be ableo go back to a safe d fr syria. >> the clooneys later announce a

partnership to open public schools for 3,000 syrian refugee children. >> refugees are people who have fled war. and i think that one of the things that george and amal clooney are committed to doing is helping share those stories. so that people understand the stakes. >> clooney was vocally opposed to candidate donald trump. and doesn't hold back his opinions about the president since the 2016 election. >> we have a demagogue in the white house. the one thing you look at as americans -- it's sort of one thing i'm always very proud of is we tend to do a lot of dumb things over periods of time. but we're also pretty good at fixing them. now we have donald trump, which is hard to imagine. it catches in your throat. we will fix it. we have to. >> clooney has good reason to be concerned about the future.

>> finally tonight, the world's most anticipated newborns have arrived. george and amal clooney have welcomed twins, he will la aell alexander. they announced the birth and said george is sedate and should recover in a few days. >> a father, clooney again takes a hard line against the paparazzi. >> clooney going after photographers who they say apd unauthorized pictures of his twins. printed in a french magazine taken at his home in italy. furious saying the paparazzi scaled our fence and illegally took pictures of our infants inside our home. >> in october 2017, dozens of women accuse movie executive harvey weinstein of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to rape.

weinstein denies any non-consensual conduct. clooney's relationship with weinstein dates back to 1996, when the producer gave hip his first starring film role. several years later, his first directorial effort was a weinstein film. as a result, the star comes in for his share of criticism for his relationship with the producer. but clooney doesn't hold back his own condemnation of weinstein. >> i want to know what kind of ad dollars were spent from the weinstein company and from miramax. we should have known this. this is violating women. this is assault. this is silencing women. >> are you angry? >> i'm furious. yeah, he is mean to work with. i knew that for a fact. but the idea that he has committed these kinds of

atrocities on women. i want to know who knew. >> advocate. actor. husband. father. and friend. clooney continues to put his money where his heart is. in addition to providing public schooling for 3,000 syrian refugee children, in 2017, clooney and his wife donate $1 million to the southern poverty law center through the clooney foundation for justice. to those who know him personally, george clooney has never forgotten where he came from and who helped him along the way. >> i have a story that has never been told before. it pretty much sums up who george is. there's a group of guys that we call the boys. george had called me and the boys and said, hey, mark september 27th of 2013 on your

calendar. everyone will come to my house for dinner. everyone has a seat. sitting in front of each of us on the table is a black bag, luggage. george begins to say, listen, i want you guys to know how much you have meant to me and how much you mean to me in my life. i came to l.a. i slept on your couch. i'm so fortunate in my life to have all of you. and i couldn't be where i am today without all of you. it was really important to me that while we're still all here together that i give back. so i want you all to open your suitcases. we open it up. it's a million dollars in 20 bills. 14 of us got a million dollars. every single one of us. we're in shock.

what is this? he goes, we've all been through some hard times. some of you are still going through it. you don't have to worry about your kids. you don't have to worry about school. you don't have to worry about paying your mortgage. one is working at a bar in texas at the airport trying to just support his family. rides a bicycle to work every day. these are guys that took care of george. and now he is giving it all back. george said not only that, i have paid everyone's taxes. this million dollars is yours. i don't need a million dollars. i pull him aside. i am not taking this million dollars. immediately george says, i'm going to make one announcement. if randy doesn't take the million dollars, nobody gets it. okay. i'm taking the million dollars. donate it. this is who george is. that was september 27, 2013. september 27, 2014, he marries

amal. that good karma right there. >> we're all in this, all of us together. we're only as good as -- we're only successful as the human race by how we look out for the people who can't look out for themselves. he doesn't need much more than his couch and his television and some potato chips and the ball game on. >> he is a man surrounded by children who just wants to take a nap. >> he is where the buck stops. >> he wants to be happy at work. and when he comes home, he wants his wife to want to have sex with him. >> earns a living, comes home. >> he is struggling just to keep his head above water in the world of relevance. >> he is a rotten husband