WASHINGTON • Actor and director George Clooney, a supporter of Mrs Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, broke ranks over campaign financing last Saturday to condemn the "obscene" sums of money in United States politics and praised Mrs Clinton's chief political rival in the process.

He made the remarks in an interview with NBC News' Meet The Press, the day after he and his wife, Amal, hosted a fundraiser on behalf of Democratic Party hopeful Clinton last Friday night with a price tag of up to US$353,400 (S$480,000) a couple.

"We had some protesters last night when we pulled up in San Francisco and they're right to protest. They're absolutely right. It is an obscene amount of money," he said in excerpts released last Saturday.

The interview was to air yesterday.

The fund-raiser headlined by the Clooneys was held in San Francisco and the US$353,400 were for two seats at the head table.

Mr Bernie Sanders, a US Senator from Vermont and Clinton's rival in the race for the Democratic nomination to run for the White House in the Nov 8 election, has pounced on former Secretary of State Clinton over the big-ticket event and for accepting large sums of money for her campaign.

"The Sanders campaign, when they talk about it, is absolutely right. It's ridiculous that we should have this kind of money in politics. I agree completely," Clooney said.

In response to the dinner, the Sanders campaign last Friday evening sent out an e-mail to supporters asking them to help reach their fund-raising goals by chipping in US$3.53 each instead.

REUTERS