Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Felicity Jones, ‘On the Basis of Sex’ Star, Mourns ‘Beacon of Light’

The world continues to mourn Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died at the age of 87 on Friday. Felicity Jones, who portrayed the trailblazing Justice in On the Basis of Sex, which was released in December 2018 in honor of the 25th anniversary of Ginsburg’s tenure on the Supreme Court, released a kind message about the late lawmaker. In her statement, Jones touched upon Ginsburg’s many accomplishments and noted she will miss her.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave us hope, a public figure who stood for integrity and justice — a responsibility she did not wear lightly,” Jones said in a statement. “She will be missed not only as a beacon of light in these difficult times but for her razor-sharp wit and extraordinary humanity. She taught us all so much. I will miss her deeply.” Jones wasn’t the only member of the On the Basis of Sex cast that released a statement in tribute to Ginsburg.

Justin Theroux, who played Melvin “Mel” Wulf in the film, posted a series of photos of himself and the late Justice on Instagram and wrote, “I am heartbroken. I have no words for the hole that has just been blown through us. Thank you for your service, Justice Ginsburg. We’ll miss you RBG. I love you Ruth.”

Of course, many lawmakers have also issued statements in light of Ginsburg’s passing. Many of those statements echoed one of Ginsburg’s final requests, which is that Congress will wait until after the upcoming November election before her seat on the Supreme Court is filled. Former President Barack Obama issued a lengthy tribute to the late Justice, chronicling the many noteworthy events that she was involved in throughout her career. “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought to the end, through her cancer, with unwavering faith in our democracy and its ideals,” Obama’s message read, in part. “That’s how we remember her. But she also left instructions for how she wanted her legacy to be honored.”

Obama continued to write that since the Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, set the precedent in 2016 that Americans should first vote before a president can fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court during an election year, that same rule should be followed now.

“As votes are already being cast in this election, Republican Senators are now called to apply that standard,” he continued. “The questions before the Court now and in the coming years — with decisions that will determine whether or not our economy is fair, our society is just, women are treated equally, our planet survives, our democracy endures — are too consequential to future generations for courts to be filled with anything less than an unimpeachable process.”