In the wake of the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner, George Clooney used an awards-show speech to make a plea against “hatred and corruption and cruelty and violence”.

Clooney was speaking at an event at the Lincoln Center in New York, where he was given Film at Lincoln Center’s annual Chaplin award, which “recognises an individual’s significant contribution to cinema”.

In remarks reported by Variety, Clooney said: “I disagree with everything that this administration stands for, but there’s no place for the kind of violence we saw two nights ago in Washington DC. Nor is there a room for this kind of violence in Minnesota with Alex Pretti or Renee Good.”

Clooney added: “It seems to me there’s a struggle that has to be won against hatred and corruption and cruelty and violence. It’s a struggle for the very soul of this republic because to foment hate and violence is to inherit the wind … The question is simply, what are we, as citizens of this great country, to do? And it is that answer in all of us, left, right and centre, to build a more perfect union, heal our wounds and begin to truly make America great again.”

Clooney’s intervention followed his criticism of Trump’s “a whole civilisation will die tonight” threat against Iran. In April, Clooney spoke to students at an event organised by the Clooney Foundation for Justice, saying: “Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilisation, that’s a war crime. You can still support the conservative point of view but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.”