 Miyazaki refused to attend the 75th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles in 2003, in protest of the United States' involvement in the Iraq War, later stating that he "didn't want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq".He did not publicly express this opinion at the request of his producer until 2009, when he lifted his boycott and attended San Diego Comic Con International as a favor to his friend John Lasseter.Miyazaki also expressed his opinion about the terrorist attack at the offices of the French satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo", criticizing the magazine's decision to publish the content cited as the catalyst for the incident.