Few Hollywood stars loathed President Donald Trump quite like Michael Rapaport. Think Robert De Niro-level rage, with more colorful language.
The “Beautiful Girls” alum routinely hurled words against Trump that can’t be repeated here. The first word of a common Rapaport epithet? Pig.
Rapaport, touring the country as a stand-up comedian, views the President differently today.
The veteran actor/comic is a loud and proud defender of Israel. He has used his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcW_OJMsc2o">eponymous podcast</a>, social media accounts, and media interviews to let people know he hasn’t forgotten about them … even if his Hollywood peers have been shockingly silent on the matter. It’s given him a strange, and well-earned, new respect for the Commander-in-Chief.
“My views have changed,” <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/michael-rapaport-on-standing-up-for-the-israeli-hostages/id1740762722?i=1000731058479">Rapaport told this reporter</a> and the host of Denver’s “Ryan Schuiling Live” October 8 on 630 KHOW. The star recalled meeting several freed hostages along with the family members of some killed by Hamas terrorists.
“Knowing in my heart, in my guts, in my soul that that’s why I was able to meet them, it’s because of Trump … I can’t make fun of him anymore. I can make fun in a fun, loving way, but I can’t be disrespectful knowing what I know … and I’m good with that.
“He deserves my respect, and he deserves Jews’ respect. I’m proud that I’ve changed,” said Rapaport, days after the President struck a tentative peace deal that includes the release of all remaining hostages.
<div id="attachment_877391" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-877391" class="size-large wp-image-877391" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2036403442-865x576.jpg" alt="TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - FEBRUARY 24: Michael Rapaport speaks to the crowd as people gather outside the HaKirya base which serves as the IDF’s headquarters to demand the return of the hostages held by Hamas on February 24, 2024 in Tel Aviv, Israel.” Frustrations with the government have grown as over 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza, after more than four months of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2036403442-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2036403442-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2036403442-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2036403442.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Roy Rochlin/Getty Images</div>
Rapaport has worked steadily in Hollywood for years, including on films directed by industry giants such as Spike Lee, Clint Eastwood, and James Mangold. He’s understandably frustrated that so few stars have spoken up on the hostages’ behalf.
“It’s very, very, very, very one-sided,” he said of the industry regarding the Israel/Palestinian divide. “I would accept [actors saying] ‘bring the hostages home and free Palestine,’” he said. “We’ve had two Oscars, two Grammys, two Emmys [ceremonies] in the two years, and not one person said it … These are my peers. It’s been very frustrating and disappointing.”
Rapaport spots a hypocrisy beyond the surface regarding the matter.
“This is a group that will scream and yell about everything … If there had been one, just one African-American from, let’s say, Miami, the entire perspective on this whole thing would be changed … or five college students from, say, Spellman or Clark or traditionally black universities.”
Rapaport, along with Debra Messing, Patricia Heaton, Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik, and David Schwimmer, has been among the very few stars to either defend Israel, demand the hostages be released, or both.
And while he refuses to play the Victim Card, the “Atypical” star hints it has cost him professionally.
“I’m a proud Jewish man, of course, I’m gonna stand up and fight vigorously. What I’ve dealt with, the sacrifices I’ve made &#8230; doesn’t compare to people whose lives have been lost … the agony and the trauma and the terror [hostage families have] faced.”
“I’m built and ready for every little bit of ramifications … I wouldn’t change a thing,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to have the means and the forum and platform … I’ve been to Israel seven times. I’ve heard so many stories … I’ve gained far more than I’ve lost.”
<div id="attachment_986297" style="width: 748px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-986297" class="size-large wp-image-986297" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2237062025-738x576.jpg" alt="NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - SEPTEMBER 25: Michael Rapaport performs at The Stress Factory Comedy Club on September 25, 2025 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images)" width="738" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2237062025-738x576.jpg 738w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2237062025-300x234.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2237062025-768x599.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2237062025.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 738px) 100vw, 738px" />NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ &#8211; SEPTEMBER 25: Michael Rapaport performs at The Stress Factory Comedy Club on September 25, 2025, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images)</div>
The latter refers to potential acting roles and stand-up gigs. Pro-Palestinian protesters previously coaxed clubs in Michigan and Alabama to cancel his stand-up shows. A Portland-based effort featured a poster of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/antifa-michael-rapaport-portland-protest/">Rapaport with X’s over his eyes.</a>
His Denver appearances at Comedy Works from October 9-11 had workers wanding patrons to make sure no weapons entered the club.
And while many stars publicly supported late-night host Jimmy Kimmel following his controversial, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kimmel-claims-his-comments-on-charlie-kirks-assassination-were-maliciously-mischaracterized">week-long suspension</a>, artists haven’t rallied behind Rapaport’s free speech rights.
Why? “Because they agree,” he said bluntly. “Not all of them, <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/global/stars-sign-pledge-complicit-israeli-film-companies-1236511010/">but 3,900 of them</a>,” he said, referencing a recent open letter signed by some of the industry’s biggest stars, including Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix, and Emma Stone, who won’t work with Israeli-based groups on film projects.
“But what about me? I’m an individual &#8230; what happens when my name comes up?” he asked.
Rapaport holds no grudge against Kimmel. Just the opposite. He spoke glowingly of the far-left talker, saying he couldn’t be “nicer” or “sweeter” in real life. Rapaport still bristled at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-really-got-kimmel-suspended-i-hear-that-that-monologue-was-very-hot">the infamous comments Kimmel made</a> following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
“I don’t think there’s anything funny four days after somebody getting killed in cold blood,” Rapaport said of Kimmel’s monologue snippet. “I don’t care if [Kirk is] pro this, pro that &#8230; nothing to me is funny less than a week later about someone getting shot in front of the entire world in 4K for all of us to have to watch it, watch it, watch it.”
He still defended Kimmel’s right to say what he said.
“I’m a trash talker. I fully believe in free speech,” he added.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

“Jeff Ross: Take A Banana For The Ride” Broadway Opening Night

‘I Can’t Make Fun of Him Anymore’: Michael Rapaport On Trump, Israel, And Redemption

'I Can’t Make Fun of Him Anymore': Michael Rapaport On Trump, Israel, And Redemption

actors

comedian

Comedy

Donald Trump

Entertainment

Free Speech

Hostages

Israel

Middle East

The passing of Native American actor Graham Greene reminded us of the Oscar-winning 1990 film “Dances with Wolves.” The film cast Greene as Kicking Bird, and his screen time with director and star Kevin Costner set the table for the drama.
The film remains beloved for its portrait of the American West, many warts and all. It’s also emblematic of Costner’s career, one dedicated to the great outdoors in the grand American tradition.
Few actors have clung to that mythos like Costner, from his directorial breakthrough with “Dances with Wolves” to his most recent venture, the “Horizon” saga. Along the way, Costner has explored the American wilderness on screens large and small, creating a genuine affection for his country in the process.
<div id="attachment_969287" style="width: 825px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969287" class="size-large wp-image-969287" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-37-PM-7630-815x576.jpg" alt="Kevin Costner in “Dances with Wolves” 1990. Tig Productions. Majestic Films International. Allied Filmmakers. Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images copyright 2012. IMDB." width="815" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-37-PM-7630-815x576.jpg 815w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-37-PM-7630-300x212.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-37-PM-7630-768x543.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-37-PM-7630-1536x1086.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-37-PM-7630-2048x1448.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 815px) 100vw, 815px" />Kevin Costner in “Dances with Wolves” 1990. Tig Productions. Majestic Films International. Allied Filmmakers. Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images copyright 2012. IMDB.</div>
He didn’t sugarcoat the land’s flaws then, and he refused to do so in subsequent projects. America’s natural beauty and potential proved his constant companion.
It explains why he endures as more than just a movie star at the age of 70. He’s part of the cultural fabric. And, even when he’s taking political stances that anger a good half of the country, his treasure trove of goodwill barely takes a hit.
Costner famously got left on the editing room floor in 1983’s“The Big Chill,” even though his character’s fate powered the nostalgia-laced drama. Director Lawrence Kasdan made amends to the young actor by casting him in the ensemble western “Silverado.”
<div id="attachment_969291" style="width: 720px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969291" class="size-large wp-image-969291" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-468733013-710x576.jpg" alt="CIRCA 1985: Actors Kevin Costner, Scott Glenn, Kevin Kline and Danny Glover on set the movie &quot;Silverado&quot; circa 1985. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)" width="710" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-468733013-710x576.jpg 710w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-468733013-300x243.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-468733013-768x623.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-468733013.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px" />CIRCA 1985: Actors Kevin Costner, Scott Glenn, Kevin Kline and Danny Glover on set the movie &#8220;Silverado&#8221; circa 1985. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)</div>
From there, Costner landed “The Untouchables” (1987), “Bull Durham” (1988), and “Field of Dreams” (1989), a run of hits few actors could match, then or now. That gave him the clout to start shaping his career on his terms. And that led to “Dances with Wolves.”
The film may appear “woke” in retrospect, showcasing a guilt-ridden white man coming to terms with his country’s cruelty to Native Americans. Costner grounded the Western epic with respect for all its elements – from historical realities to the harsh truths about frontier life. 
Such messaging is often found in movies with what YouTube film and TV critic, The Critical Drinker, famously calls “The Message.” Costner, however, refused to lecture without context or push an agenda without exploring that time and place from all angles.
“Dances with Wolves” brought the nation’s complicated history to life, not with finger-wagging asides but a three-dimensional portrait that couldn’t be denied.
And, in the process, he forged a connection with American storytelling that became his unofficial identity. Costner has worked constantly since that film’s release, and his career has hit the usual bumps along the way.
He returned to the American West repeatedly over the years, from the unsung 2003 western “Open Range” to 1994’s “Wyatt Earp.” The latter got overshadowed by “Tombstone,” released a year earlier and featuring an iconic turn from Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
And, when his career appeared to be on the downside, Costner teamed with rising TV producer Taylor Sheridan to anchor “Yellowstone.” The Paramount series wasn’t set in the 1800s, but its Montana backdrop and timeless themes connected to the stories Costner knows best.
How many modern shows reflect the natural beauty of a state like Montana? For Costner and Sheridan, it just felt like home.
At a time when even “hit” TV shows draw a fraction of the audience of prior smashes, “Yellowstone” drew huge ratings. The show’s 2024 finale drew north of 13 million viewers.
<div id="attachment_969295" style="width: 825px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969295" class="size-large wp-image-969295" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-50-PM-769-815x576.jpg" alt="Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser in &quot;Yellowstone, Watch 'Em Ride Away&quot;Photo by Courtesy of Paramount Network - copyright Paramount Network 2022" width="815" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-50-PM-769-815x576.jpg 815w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-50-PM-769-300x212.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-50-PM-769-768x543.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-50-PM-769-1536x1086.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-04-50-PM-769-2048x1448.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 815px) 100vw, 815px" />Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser in &#8220;Yellowstone: Watch &#8216;Em Ride Away&#8221; Photo by Courtesy of Paramount Network &#8211; copyright Paramount Network 2022</div>
The Sheridan saga featured a sprawling cast, but Costner’s John Dutton anchored the show. Once again, the actor’s instincts and authenticity made the series matter.
Actors can only fake so much. Audiences see the now weathered star as a credible and engaging part of the American landscape. He leaned on that persona for not one but two FOX Nation limited series based on Yellowstone history – “Yellowstone One Fifty” and “Yellowstone to Yosemite with Kevin Costner.”
Costner’s cinematic passions came to a head last year with a project that may never be completed as he originally envisioned it.
Costner returned to the director’s chair for 2024’s “Horizon: An American Saga.” The old-school western cost him a pretty penny, and then some. The star used his sizable wealth to help fund what he saw as a four-part movie saga.
The first installment drew modest reviews and tepid box office results – just $38 million worldwide. The second chapter, already filmed, currently lacks a release date, although it debuted at the Venice International Film Festival last year.
The actor has been open about struggling to fund parts three and four, and it’s possible the saga will end with the second film.
The irony? Costner began dreaming up the story behind “Horizon” in the late 1980s, just before his directorial breakthrough with “Dances with Wolves.” His quest to turn the American West into a deeply personal film franchise may have been doomed by fiscal realities, but it’s in line with Costner’s creative self.
He loves America, from its natural splendor to its ability to let citizens dream impossible dreams. And nowhere is that more evident than in the great outdoors.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Fanatics Fest NYC 2025

Kevin Costner: The Wild Wild West Movie Star

Celebrities

Hollywood

Kevin Costner

Montana

Movies

Yellowstone

The big controversy of the day surrounds Sydney Sweeney&#8217;s chest.
Sydney Sweeney is an actress who’s done a number of movies lately, but she&#8217;s mostly famous because when she&#8217;s on TV, when she&#8217;s hosting SNL, she shows a lot of cleavage.
She&#8217;s a very attractive woman and did some new <a href="https://x.com/IamSydSweeney/status/1948063444550468039">American Eagle ads</a> that blew up on social media.
One ad shows her buttoning her jeans seductively; she talks about jeans, saying, “My jeans are blue,” while the voice-over says, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
The homonym meant for the audience is that she has great genetic predispositions and characteristics. Another ad shows her closing the hood of a Mustang, then rubbing the backside of her jeans as she walks away.
The real story here is that Sydney Sweeney is doing sexy commercials, which has been a hallmark of advertising going back to the mid-19th century.
This has resulted in people going absolutely insane, totally crazy.
It’s important to note that people who are characterizing American Eagle as some sort of bizarre Right-wing company are missing the boat. American Eagle is not a Right-wing company. American Eagle is a jeans company that follows whatever it thinks are the prevailing trends of the time.
The real question is: What is the zeitgeist here? It is amazing that we are now having a controversy over what would have been, two decades ago, a perfectly normal ad on your television.
I’m old enough to remember when the Right would have objected to such an ad.
There are some of us who are traditionally-minded who still object to the overt sexualization of women in advertising, as well as the sexualization that is being forced on our culture. Some of us are old enough to remember when Paris Hilton was grinding on cars for a Carl&#8217;s Jr. commercial back in 2005, and objecting to that as being too raunchy and problematic.
I don&#8217;t mean problematic in the Left-wing sense; I mean morally problematic to put scantily clad, attractive women in advertising specifically to get people to buy a product.
But the Left has gone completely insane. They&#8217;ve broken down into two categories, both objecting to the ad.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2248-the-ben-shapiro-show?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
The first is the feminist line that these ads were “made for the male gaze.” It&#8217;s all about the “male gaze.”
Can we get over this nonsense, “the male gaze?” Men like to look at pretty women. That is the way of the world. That is the basis of all human reproduction.
That does not mean that men should ogle women. But if we are going to pretend that beauty does not exist and that men don&#8217;t appreciate it, then you are simply ignoring the realities of life.
The second category is those who say there is something peculiarly Nazi about all of this. Washington Post fashion critic Rachel Tashjian and Style Memo newsletter writer Shane O’Neill <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/07/28/sydney-sweeney-american-eagle-ad/">discussed</a> the ads.
O’Neill posited:
<blockquote>The most provocative part of the campaign is when she’s talking about offspring and genes. (She says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” and the camera pans to her blue eyes. “My jeans are blue.”) Sweeney also has softer copy in the press release. She says of American Eagle, “They have literally been there with me through every version of myself.”
There’s a message about mutable identity there. And that could be extended into a vision of America as a place where you’re NOT bound by who you are at birth. But they went the full opposite of that. &#8230;
I think what’s getting people talking — or rather, why everyone was watching these TikToks obsessively over the weekend and picking them apart — is how regressive the ads seem,” Tashjian stated. “The line about her having great jeans — several people are suggesting in the comments on Instagram and TikTok that this is a ‘pro-eugenics ad.’ Whether or not that’s the case, it is part of a wave of imagery of influencers, pop stars and musicians that feels tethered to the values of another time.</blockquote>
You&#8217;re going to see a Right-wing backlash building. The “values of another time” would be men thinking attractive women are attractive, because attractive women are attractive. If that&#8217;s “tethered to the values of another time,” then that would be tethered to the values of all time.
There&#8217;s nothing new there. If that were not the case, sales of Ozempic would be significantly lower.
“For the past five or six years, it seemed like fashion and pop culture were very interested in — even dedicated to — body positivity. Now we’re being fed a lot of images of thinness, whiteness, and unapologetic wealth porn, what with this campaign, influencers like Alix Earle and Sabrina Carpenter’s album cover,” Tashjian claimed.
“Those Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ads are weird. Like fascist weird, like Nazi propaganda, weird. Should we be surprised that a company whose name is literally American Eagle is making fascist propaganda like this?” a TikTok influencer stated. “A blonde-haired blue-eyed white woman is talking about her genes.” 
This is crazy. A play on the words “jeans” and “genes” is not meant to be a reference to the Nazis.
Another thing: let’s be real: when people look at Sydney Sweeney — I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings here for you lefties — her eye color and hair color are the third and fourth things people are looking at when they look at Sydney Sweeney.
When she says she has good genes, people are not thinking about her eye color or her hair color.
The Right has split on this ad. There are many people in the online space who look at the insane reaction of the Left to this, where they are calling it Nazi propaganda, suggesting that it is all about “the male gaze” and the “evils of the male gaze,” “tethered to another time,” and all this crap, and they respond, “This ad is great. It&#8217;s making America great again. This ad is bringing back what makes America awesome. This is a reversion to the heterosexual norm.”
This ad can be both a rejection of the post-gender insanity push by the Left, but also be a piece leaning toward very softcore pornography. Being a moral traditionalist, I do not actually believe that commercials like this are great for America.
I think it&#8217;s good to expose the Left for being totally insane, and I think it is worthwhile noting that the Left is totally crazy. But if you&#8217;re a traditionally moral person, if you&#8217;re somebody who&#8217;s a churchgoer, a synagogue-goer, and you look at this ad, you&#8217;re saying, “This looks like a way to get a bunch of young people to buy jeans by showing Sydney Sweeney&#8217;s butt and breasts.”
Is that good for culture? Is that good for male/female relations? Is the over-sexualization of our society a generally good thing or a generally bad thing?
Two things can be true at once. One, the Left is totally insane and there&#8217;s nothing Nazi-esque about a jeans pun, and the anti-Left is correct to mock the Left for being totally insipid and insane.
But the Right is also split between people who don&#8217;t hold any sort of traditional values and people who do hold those traditional values, and they exist in an uneasy coalition.
It will be interesting to see how that coalition works moving forward.

US-ENTERTAINMENT-MEDIA-MUSIC-FESTIVAL-SXSW

The Internet’s Cleavage Over Sydney Sweeney’s Commercial

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Opinion

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Sydney Sweeney

Hollywood warned us.
If Americans choose Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris it’ll be the end of democracy.
Never mind that Trump previously served as president and the nation didn’t collapse under his “dictatorial” regime. Nor that Harris’s ascension came without a single primary vote.
Now, the stars are cosplaying their worst nightmares since reality refuses to cooperate.
George Clooney joined this ignominious group while promoting “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the Broadway adaptation of his 2005 film. First, he guided Broadway superstar Patti LuPone away from the ledge during <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/1624911021494095">their Variety conversation</a>.
<blockquote>George Clooney: &#8220;We&#8217;re going to get through [the Trump era].&#8221; 
Patti LuPone: &#8220;Do you think so?&#8221; 
Clooney: &#8220;I&#8217;m an optimist.&#8221; 
LuPone: &#8220;See, I&#8217;m a glass half empty girl.&#8221;</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_937321" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-937321" class="size-large wp-image-937321" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2208397530-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: George Clooney attends &quot;Good Night, And Good Luck&quot; Broadway Opening Night at Winter Garden Theatre on April 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2208397530-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2208397530-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2208397530-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2208397530.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images</div>
The “ER” alum still fears that <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/george-clooney-claims-its-frightening-time-news-business-because-trump">President Trump might target him</a> for saying such things, but he refuses to stand down.
&#8220;Sure. Everybody worries about it … But, you know, if you spend your life worrying about things, then you won&#8217;t do things. You know, we have, like everybody, a family, and we have a life, and we try to, you know, live and do things as the best example for our kids. And I want to be able to look at my kids in the eye and say where we stood and what we did at certain times in history. And I have no problem with that.&#8221;
Just like Clooney did when he saw a cognitively diminished President Joe Biden last June and waited weeks to share the news (after the leader’s poll numbers drooped).
Film and Broadway star Nathan Lane ginned up controversy for his new Hulu series “Mid-Century Modern” by claiming it could be canceled by the president at a moment’s notice. The sitcom follows three older gay men living their best lives.
<div id="attachment_937323" style="width: 804px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-937323" class="size-large wp-image-937323" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2206933073-794x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 25: (L-R) Nathan Lee Graham, Nathan Lane and Matt Bomer attend the Los Angeles premiere of Hulu's new series &quot;Mid-Century Modern&quot; at DGA Theater Complex on March 25, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)" width="794" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2206933073-794x576.jpg 794w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2206933073-300x218.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2206933073-768x557.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2206933073.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px" />Amy Sussman/Getty Images</div>
The show has garnered modestly positive reviews but little cultural attention. Lane accidentally acknowledged that by suggesting the series <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/nathan-lane-says-trump-would-take-mid-century-modern-offair-1235132646/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;fbclid=IwQ0xDSwK6kBFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHqpTbg5C9jhC3XYyoZzwCup6rcsOuRclrkX9hbgqiBn3trrSCVlw5dweIpZ8_aem_Uo-DMaYAu5p9Ai286gjhTA">could end tomorrow</a> if a certain Hitler 2.0 learns about it.
“Is it going to change any minds? I don’t know about that. Trump, if he knew we were on the air, would probably try to shut it down, come after Hulu. But, I think it’s a great thing to have right now, in the midst of books being banned and, ‘Don’t say this and don’t say gay and don’t do that.’ I think it’s a perfect time for a show like this.”
Lane expertly wove Fear Mongering 101 with Fake News in that short paragraph. Impressive. Can someone tell him that Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, is a gay man? So is longtime Trump ally Richard Grenell, now tasked with leading The Kennedy Center.
Rising comic star Nikki Glaser also weighed in with her own version of Orange Man Bad. The stand-up fears that her anti-Trump comments could cost her a return trip to the U.S. She recently performed in Canada and tweaked her apolitical routine to include Trump barbs. That left her shaken, <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/24/entertainment/nikki-glaser-worried-that-she-could-not-be-let-back-into-the-country-for-trump-jokes/">she told Time Magazine.</a>
“Oh my God. What if what I said gets recorded and sent out? Maybe I could not be let back into the country.”
As the first comic to ever poke fun at Trump, those fears are very justified.
<div id="attachment_937325" style="width: 854px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-937325" class="size-large wp-image-937325" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2211645119-844x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 23: Nikki Glaser speaks onstage during the 2025 TIME100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)" width="844" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2211645119-844x576.jpg 844w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2211645119-300x205.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2211645119-768x524.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2211645119.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 844px) 100vw, 844px" />Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME</div>
Musicians are weighing in with similar fears. Take hypocritical rocker Neil Young. He shared a similar worry about his international touring schedule. The ‘60s legend warned that he might not be allowed back in the U.S. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/apr/02/neil-young-fears-us-ban-donald-trump-criticism">for attacking Trump</a>.
“When I go to play music in Europe, if I talk about Donald J Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket,” Young wrote. “That is happening all the time now. Countries have new advice for those returning to America.”
The irony of him worried about free speech after trying to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/just-in-spotify-to-pull-neil-young-music-after-ultimatum-letter-demanding-rogan-be-removed">silence Spotify superstar Joe Rogan</a> for his pandemic views remains lost on him.
One singer had a microscopic point about <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/11159066/canadian-musicians-touring-usa-donald-trump/">re-entering the U.S</a>.
Canadian country singer Robert Adam claims to be non-binary and scrapped plans to tour America due to Trump’s passport decree. Transgender people must declare their biological sex in the documents, something Adam refused to do.
Actor Billy Porter played the Hitler Card in a new interview tied to Trump. Porter described his current project, the 2015 play “This Bitter Earth” as both an extension of the classic show “Cabaret” and a response to Nazi Germany.
Sadly, he said we&#8217;re living in <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2025/06/18/the-hunger-games-star-billy-porter-america-is-nazi-germany-right-now-and-the-jews-are-black-people/">America’s version of the Third Reich</a> under Trump.
“[Cabaret] was written as a response to Nazi Germany, and it lived in that space for 60 years as a history piece, looking back on something that we have had moved through … and now we’re doing it and America is Nazi Germany. It’s not going to be Nazi Germany. It’s not becoming Nazi Germany. It’s not in fear of becoming [Nazi Germany]. It is Nazi Germany right now, and the Jews are Black people.”
We know that all of the above is a toxic stew of virtue signaling and fear mongering. President Trump’s critics are legion, especially within the Hollywood ranks. Stephen Colbert alone has spent nearly a decade savaging him in his “Late Show” monologues, much of it with Fake News gags tied to the Russian collusion hoax.
There’s no ICE-style army waiting outside his New York theater waiting to bring him in. The same holds true across the pop culture landscape.
Sure, Trump might send out a scorching Truth Social post mocking Kimmel, Colbert or even “Saturday Night Live.” It’s beneath the dignity of his office, but it always ends there.
Always.
The aforementioned stars didn’t say a peep about the Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zuckerberg-biden-harris-repeatedly-pressured-us-to-censor-free-speech">silencing dissent</a> on pandemic restrictions, the <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/fbi-spent-a-year-preparing-platforms-to-censor-biden-story-withheld-info-on-laptops-authenticity/">Deep State suppressing Hunter Biden laptop saga</a> or other First Amendment concerns. They didn’t decry “sensitivity readers” <a href="https://reason.com/2023/03/27/agatha-christie-woke-books-roald-dahl-ian-fleming/">erasing words</a> from books by Ian Fleming, Agatha Christie or Roald Dahl.
It’s why their fears of Dictator Trump should be treated with the same reverence as a made-for-streaming movie that the platform drops with zero fanfare.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-EDUCATION

Dictator On Demand: How Hollywood Keeps Streaming The Trump Panic

Broadway

George Clooney

Leftists

Nathan Lane

Neil Young

President Trump

04-Jun-2025-05-00-PM-4422

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Homosexuality

LGBTQ

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Texas

The Hollywood Resistance wasn’t ready for its close-up following the 2024 presidential election.
We didn’t even see starlets donning hats resembling a certain female body part. Trade publications like <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/hollywood-fears-trump-president-devastating-1236209319/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Variety</a> and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/hollywood-trump-resistance-the-sequel-1236076420/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hollywood Reporter</a> fretted that we might not endure a repeat of Hollywood’s posturing during the first Trump term.
Remember the first Trump term? Death wishes. Clunky documentaries. Comedy shows throwing satire to the side to smite the 45th president. And one ISIS-style photography shoot which pummeled a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/election-night-kathy-griffin-retweets-infamous-pic-of-her-with-trumps-severed-head" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D-list star’s career.</a>
Those fears have melted away in President Trump’s first 100 days in office. The Resistance is back and the worst is (likely) yet to come.
Late-night TV never stopped attacking President Trump. Most programs would consider President Joe Biden and his gaffe-tastic Vice President Kamala Harris fodder during the leader’s one term in office.
The jokes could write themselves. Instead, Colbert and co. pretended as if Trump had never left the Oval Office.
<div id="attachment_825621" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-825621" class="size-large wp-image-825621" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-2182289102-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK CITY - OCTOBER 17: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest during Thursday's October 17, 2024 show. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-2182289102-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-2182289102-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-2182289102-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-2182289102.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images</div>
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel greeted Trump’s re-election with literal tears, and it’s been the same ol’, same ol’ ever since. He referred to Trump administration officials as “animals” in an <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/jimmy-kimmel-trump-late-night-future-interview-1235315906/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unhinged Rolling Stone interview</a>. He also described his comedy platform as a place liberals can go to “scream” in Trump 2.0.
NBC’s Seth Meyers is openly advising the Democrats on how to win back the general public, <a href="https://x.com/alexchristy17/status/1917210840106680431" target="_blank" rel="noopener">throwing caution</a> (and comedy) to the wind:
<blockquote>Now is not the time to nitpick the messaging of other Democrats. Instead of critiquing someone else&#8217;s message, go out there and do your own thing and give voters the choice they were deprived of this last election. Take a cue from the ones who are actually going out there doing [bleep] and getting attention for it.</blockquote>
Amber Ruffin no longer has a late-night show to call her own. So she talked herself out of a gig hosting the White House Correspondents’ Association gala by <a href="https://variety.com/2025/politics/news/whca-drops-amber-ruffin-performance-dinner-1236351795/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sharing what she planned to say</a> on the dais. 
When asked if she would hit both sides of the political aisle, she said doing so would make Team Trump “feel like human beings … ‘cause they’re not.”
“Saturday Night Live” continues to hammer all things Trump while aggressively ignoring Democratic blunders, from throwing support to alleged gang members to goofy stunts like Sen. Cory Booker’s 25-hour filibuster.
<div id="attachment_914075" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-914075" class="size-large wp-image-914075" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209610052-864x576.jpg" alt="SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- Episode 1881 -- Pictured: (l-r) Special guest Beck Bennett as Vladimir Putin and James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump during the &quot;White Lotus&quot; sketch on Saturday, April 12, 2025 -- (Photo by: Holland Rainwater/NBC via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209610052-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209610052-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209610052-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2209610052.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Holland Rainwater/NBC via Getty Images</div>
Comedian Bill Burr isn’t a political stand-up, but in recent years he’s called out both sides as he sees fit. Now, Burr is targeting Elon Musk, Trump’s right hand DOGE man across multiple platforms. Burr has blasted Musk as a Nazi and raged against billionaires, part of a new Democratic talking point that ignores their deep Soros family ties.
Other stars keep spreading fake Trump stories without fear of repercussion. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/amber-ruffin-comedian-white-house-correspondents-dinner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Both Ruffin</a> and “Hacks” star <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/hannah-einbinder-israel-massacre-palestinians-hrc-1236170941/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hannah Einbinder</a> pushed the “very fine people” hoax against Trump in recent weeks, earning zero pushback from Legacy Media outlets or so-called fact checkers.
Celebrities may seem a little less vocal in their anti-Trump posturing for one sober reason. Some decamped from X to Bluesky, the platform of choice for the modern Leftist. Now, when stars like “Two and a Half Men” alum Jon Cryer rage against Trump few people actually hear it.
That’s probably why some liberal stars like Stephen King left X only to come back to it weeks later. They were tired of screaming into the void, apparently.
Others use every available podium to decry President Trump.
Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (“Bad Education”) used his speech at the 50th annual Chaplin award gala earlier this month to says Trump will, “<a href="https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2025/04/29/spanish-filmmaker-pedro-almodovar-trump-will-go-down-in-history-as-the-greatest-mistake-of-our-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Go down in history as the greatest mistake of our time.”</a> Director Steven Soderberg (“Black Bag”) only called the president a <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/entertainment/director-of-che-guevara-biopic-worries-trump-popularity-proves-audiences-have-been-rooting-for-movie-bad-guys-all-along/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“villain”</a> by comparison during a press opportunity.
It’s still a sin in Hollywood to treat President Trump as normal, let alone human. Comedian Bill Maher, one of the president’s loudest critics, made more enemies on the Left by breaking bread with the Commander-in-Chief.
Maher hasn’t pulled any punches since the sit down, but he also saw Trump as, gasp, human and said as much. That was too much for fellow comedian Larry David. The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star’s New York Times op-ed calling both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/larry-david-whines-about-bill-maher-giving-donald-trump-a-chance-with-trite-hitler-comparison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump and Maher Nazis</a> spoke for many of the industry’s dwellers.
<div id="attachment_914179" style="width: 825px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-914179" class="size-large wp-image-914179" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-30-Apr-2025-01-51-PM-1677-815x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Randy Holmes/BILL MAHER. Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Larry David." width="815" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-30-Apr-2025-01-51-PM-1677-815x576.jpg 815w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-30-Apr-2025-01-51-PM-1677-300x212.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-30-Apr-2025-01-51-PM-1677-768x543.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-30-Apr-2025-01-51-PM-1677-1536x1086.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-30-Apr-2025-01-51-PM-1677-2048x1448.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 815px) 100vw, 815px" />Credit: Randy Holmes/BILL MAHER. Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Larry David.</div>
Some celebrities insist President Trump will either lock them up or prevent them from returning to America. Rocker Neil Young, who famously tried to get Joe Rogan fired from Spotify during the pandemic, openly worries he won&#8217;t be able to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/apr/02/neil-young-fears-us-ban-donald-trump-criticism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tour the U.S</a>. if he temporarily leaves the country during Trump 2.0.
Stand-up comic Nikki Glaser, who rarely gets political, <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/24/entertainment/nikki-glaser-worried-that-she-could-not-be-let-back-into-the-country-for-trump-jokes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared a similar fear</a>.
Others, like Patti LuPone, embrace big-picture worries, like <a href="https://variety.com/2025/legit/news/george-clooney-patti-lupone-surviving-trump-broadway-pay-1236374131/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">America won’t survive</a> a second Trump term.
What’s missing? Overtly anti-Trump project announcements. They may be in the works, but we’ve yet to hear of any major film or TV show dedicated to tackling Trump.
Screenwriters may work around the edges as part of their Resistance sequel. Take “Mountainhead,” a new satire from the creator of “Succession.” The Max original film, debuting May 31, follows four billionaires on vacation as they react to a global crisis from their posh retreat.
Will the movie be a “Smash the Oligarchy” event targeting the Elon Musks of the world? Perhaps. The film’s rush from production — which began in March — to release date teases just that.
Hollywood has nearly four more years to lash out at President Trump in all manner of forms. Chances are we’ll see new films or TV show tackling the 47th president directly. And, if past is prologue, the eye rolling will be epic.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Saturday Night Live – Season 50

Hollywood Reacts To 100 Days Of Trump

Bill Maher

Jimmy Kimmel

Larry David

Stephen Colbert

Television

Trump Administration

Help us, George Clooney … you’re our only hope!”
No one actually shared that plea with the Oscar-winner, but he’s been assuming someone did for a while. Over the course of four decades, the 63-year-old went from the mulleted handyman on “The Facts of Life” to an award-winning actor, director and film producer.
Clooney has every right and intention of using his celebrity gravitas. That’s despite the 2024 election proving voters no longer hold stars in high regard. At least at the ballot box.
Plenty of people listened to Clooney last summer, a time when his unofficial Save America tour kicked off. He took to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/opinion/joe-biden-democratic-nominee.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the pages</a> of The New York Times to call for President Joe Biden to end his rematch against President Donald Trump.
Clooney’s Op/Ed, and his choice of platform, rocked the Democratic establishment. Clooney shared how the Biden he once knew was no more, and that it was time for a younger Democrat to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/george-clooney-joins-chorus-of-stars-telling-biden-its-time-to-drop-out-of-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">take the fight to Trump</a>.
<blockquote>It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal‘ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.</blockquote>
Breaking News from 2021, right? Except it came on the heels of Biden’s disastrous June 27 presidential debate and endless videos revealing the leader’s rickety health.
When Biden eventually stepped aside ( maybe pushed?), Clooney looked like a Democratic soothsayer.
As a result, the star’s ego grew three sizes. and we’re now getting a good dose of it  during Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck” press tour.
<div id="attachment_912251" style="width: 933px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912251" class="size-large wp-image-912251" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2198172314-923x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 6: Signage during a press event announcing the cast of the play based on the 2005 film &quot;Good Night, And Good Luck&quot; on Broadway at The Wintergarden Theatre on February 6, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)" width="923" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2198172314-923x576.jpg 923w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2198172314-300x187.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2198172314-768x479.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2198172314.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px" />Bruce Glikas/WireImage</div>
The actor <a href="https://playbill.com/production/good-night-and-good-luck-broadway-winter-garden-theatre-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brought</a> his 2005 film of the same name to the Great White Way earlier this month. His never-ending publicity for the show, along with the production itself, has given Clooney even more opportunities to lecture reg’lar Americans on The Way Things Ought to Be.
Let’s start with the show, a love letter to journalist Edward R. Murrow during his ‘50s-era battles with Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Their clashes mattered then, and now, and the play (and film) justly honor that.
Except Clooney backloads the production with a clip brigade that touches on everything from the silly to the surreal. It’s meant to remind us why the Fourth Estate matters, even though the clips include video of Elon Musk raising his arm in a manner that some of the far-Left dubbed Nazi-adjacent.
A real journalist wouldn’t suggest the billionaire’s awkward gesture was anything but an awkward hand gesture. Nor would he use that clip as an example of something noteworthy in modern times.
A better example? A shot of a burning Tesla?
<div id="attachment_912255" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912255" class="size-large wp-image-912255" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2208439058-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: George Clooney celebrates on stage with cast during curtain call for &quot;Good Night, And Good Luck&quot; Broadway Opening Night at Winter Garden Theatre on April 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Valerie Terranova/WireImage)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2208439058-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2208439058-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2208439058-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2208439058.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Valerie Terranova/WireImage</div>
Clooney has used every media interview to remind us why journalism matters now – more than ever – in the era of Trump.
Here he is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQOvlx8g7fo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">genuflecting</a> to the Fourth Estate:
<blockquote>It’s a subject matter that is very close to our hearts, which is what [the press] does. Telling the truth and holding truth to power. It’s a play we’re very excited to do.</blockquote>
He wagged his perfectly manicured finger at us anew during a chat with CBS about the Broadway show. Once again, he <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-clooney-broadway-journalism-60-minutes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended modern journalists:</a>
<blockquote>Governments don&#8217;t like the freedom of the press. They never have,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And that goes for whether you are a conservative or a liberal or whatever side you&#8217;re on. They don&#8217;t like the press.</blockquote>
<a href="https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2025/02/19/clooney-colbert-urge-journalists-stand-right-side-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He played the same note</a> during a chat with the far-Left “Late Show” on CBS:
<blockquote>We have had this issue where power, kind of, hates the fourth estate. They hate journalism and my father’s an anchorman and news man and we’ve always believed in the idea of when the other three estates: the judiciary branch and the executive branch, when they all fail you, you need that fourth estate, right.</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_912281" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912281" class="size-large wp-image-912281" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-25-Apr-2025-11-21-AM-3980-1024x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: YouTube/The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. George Clooney." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-25-Apr-2025-11-21-AM-3980-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-25-Apr-2025-11-21-AM-3980-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-25-Apr-2025-11-21-AM-3980-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-25-Apr-2025-11-21-AM-3980-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-25-Apr-2025-11-21-AM-3980-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Screenshot: YouTube/The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. George Clooney.</div>
He’s right. So where was it during the last four years? Not only did brave, truth-telling journalists ignore President Biden’s mental decline, some actively covered it up. Remember the brief “cheap fakes” era of media damage control?
Biden’s mental decline was like his son’s missing laptop. Nothing to see here. Move along.
That’s journalism at its worst, and Clooney was part of that cover-up. Clooney palled around with President Biden during a June 2024 fundraiser, something he alluded to in that New York Times open letter. He saw Biden’s sorry state and said nothing for weeks until Biden’s poll numbers sank too low to ignore.
Is that what the son of a truth-telling journalist would do? Of course not.
Yet here he was thumping his chest about his play, the state of modern journalism, and his role in boosting both as if he had done nothing wrong.
It took a member of the “new media” to set Clooney straight about his cover-up.
“That’s not journalism, George. That’s cowardice, followed by naked partisanship,” said Megyn Kelly on her self-titled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eD8glSeIKs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a> about his actions.
Clooney remains both handsome and charismatic, and he effortlessly embraced his first major role on Broadway. That’s not easy. He might try putting his partisan blinders on the shelf the next time he waxes philosophical on journalism.
We’ve seen the very worst of it over the past decade, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is just theater.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

George Clooney Announces The Complete Broadway Cast Of “Good Night, And Good Luck”

Exit Stage Left: The Ego And Amnesia Of George Clooney

Democrats

Legacy Media

Media Bias

Theater

To be true to yourself and stand firm on your values takes courage. I would argue that this is especially true if your values are more based in nature — and even more so the case in the world of Hollywood.
When actors and actresses rise through the ranks of Hollywood, they often conform to the woke social and political image that Hollywood has not only deemed worthy but also silently required of celebrity status. Typically, if an actor’s beliefs aren’t aligned with Hollywood’s, they’ll either be cast out of that world or not even get a starting chance to climb the ranks. But a new actor rising to stardom is defying that preset narrative. Gabriel Basso upleveled to celebrity status after starring in the hit Netflix show “The Night Agent,” and during the 2024 election, he proved he’s not going to be a carbon copy of every other celebrity in the industry.
<div id="attachment_905181" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905181" class="size-large wp-image-905181" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 13: (L-R) Noah Centineo and Gabriel Basso attends The Recruit and The Night Agent Photo Call at The Plaza on January 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix</div>
Basso played JD Vance in the 2020 film “Hillbilly Elegy,” based on the book Vance wrote about his upbringing in rural Appalachia. The film was nominated for two Oscars, but this was before Vance ran as vice president. When Trump announced Vance as his running mate, everyone in Hollywood expected Basso to denounce having played Vance — but he didn’t. In fact, he <a href="https://ew.com/gabriel-basso-says-it-was-weird-to-play-cool-dude-jd-vance-8778261" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> him a “cool dude” in <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/gabriel-basso-night-agent-season-2-jd-vance-quitting-acting-1236277805/">an interview</a> with Variety after the second season of “The Night Agent” was released. Variety <a href="https://www.instagram.com/variety/p/DFGX53lvVzg/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Instagram that in their feature, “Basso opens up about starring in ‘The Night Agent,’ why he&#8217;s ‘not really a political person’ and playing JD Vance in 2020&#8217;s ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’”
Now, anytime someone says they are not political or don’t care to delve into politics, you can expect a large swath of people to swarm. Sure enough, the comments on Variety’s post proved as much, with some claiming privilege to be the key indicator as to why Basso doesn’t want to discuss politics. But connecting Basso to privilege is incredibly ironic because, as he makes quite clear in all his interviews, he intentionally avoids a privileged lifestyle. Variety writes of Basso:
<blockquote>There’s something fundamentally paleo about Basso, from his out-of-another-era firm handshake to his not carrying a cellphone. (His publicist and I text one another to triangulate his location as he arrives.) “I’m a medieval peasant,” he says. “I reject what I see in society. If a guy was to come into my village and peddle these black mirrors that everyone stares into all day, I’m trying to get this guy out of my village.”</blockquote>
Variety paints Basso as a very different kind of guy, honing in on what they seem to view as out-of-fashion characteristics. The interview reads as though a firm handshake is of a past time and maintaining eye contact is bizarrely uncommon. But these are just basic manners — a few of the exact ones my dad taught me growing up — yet Variety repeatedly mentions Basso’s eye contact and makes him seem like he’s some kind of anomaly.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-comments-section-with-reagan-conrad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Comments Section with Reagan Conrad</a></h3>
What is anomalous is Basso’s commentary; he’s saying what no other actor is saying. Take, for example, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubf19RcB8yw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> he did with Good Morning America earlier this year. In it, Lara Spencer praised “The Night Agent” as an amazing, addictive show, drawing in staggering numbers of viewers. 
Then, she asked Basso, “What do you think it is about your character, Peter, and the premise of the show that has caught on like this?” 
And Basso responded, “An inherent distrust for government.” 
An audible gasp ripped through the studio. That’s certainly not a statement you hear out of Hollywood, but it’s definitely a statement we all can relate to. With answers like that, he maintains a public-facing apolitical presence. While I don’t actually think he is apolitical, I do know he despises when actors talk as though they are experts in the political field, which he has made clear in other interviews. When Jamie Laing of Great Company <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/great-company-with-jamie-laing/id1735702250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> Basso about his fame, he said:
<blockquote>I don’t believe that actors should be famous. We’re saying words that we’re told to say, we’re told how to say them, we’re told where to stand, and then we’re telling people how to vote? You should be quiet, you should do your job, you should be a jester, entertain people, then shut the f*** up. You know, we’re the court jesters. We’re there to perform a job, to entertain, and then all the sudden the jester, because he’s in the court room starts to be like, ‘I might want to go sit on the throne.’</blockquote>
He acknowledges the role of an actor and follows that up by acknowledging what evolves with celebrity status: The court jesters suddenly have the power of a king, and that shouldn’t be the case. He’s kept this same energy going on social media, like when he called out Instagram on his story for offering “overpaid actors” ways to “farm” their “audience for money” to then “morally lecture them about donating to causes that you are told to care about.” Then, he told people to buy seeds, chickens, or absolutely anything else. Last week, he deleted his Instagram entirely, a move he made in the middle of the most fame he’s ever experienced in his life.
<div id="attachment_905169" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905169" class="size-large wp-image-905169" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-864x576.jpg" alt="THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 2078 -- Pictured: (l-r) Actor Gabriel Basso during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 -- (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images</div>
When he went on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@fallontonight/video/7460168448124095790?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Late Night</a>, he couldn’t have seemed less unimpressed by the fact he was sitting in the chair next to Jimmy Fallon. Fallon asked him about doing his own stunts, giving Basso a perfect opportunity to talk openly about his talents. (Let’s be real: It’s objectively cool he doesn’t have a stunt double.) Instead, Basso turned the answer to be about the audience, saying, “I enjoy acting. I don’t like lying. There’s just a difference. And for the sake of audience immersion, for the sake of believability, they like Peter, to watch him take hits, is important.” It’s a simple premise, but it caught Fallon totally off guard. That’s obviously not the kind of answer he’s used to getting from the seat reserved for actors who normally take every opportunity to boast about themselves. But that’s clearly not what Basso’s about. Much of the art of acting is being able to pretend and to deceive, and Basso likes acting, but he doesn’t want to lie if he doesn’t have to. It’s such a refreshing take.
Even though “The Night Agent” soared to number one on Netflix, Basso still thinks it’s important to have a day job. He shared with the hosts of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05XkWKJKoVw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This Morning</a> that he has his DSWA walling license (as in, drystack walls) because he thinks “actors are insulated from reality in a lot of ways” — and he is intentionally choosing to actively engage in reality when we all know he really doesn’t have to. He’s been an actor since childhood, so he’s going out of his way to get these side jobs as his fame is increasing. He told This Morning, “There is something that I think is wrong in today’s day and age where I can retire at 30 years old. I don’t think I should be able to. I think that it’s my responsibility to work, as a man. You know, you get a trade, you become self-sufficient, and it feels wrong to go through life with people getting me water. It feels wrong. I’ll do that when I’m old and can’t get up from the couch.” Again, it’s just refreshing to see an actor who believes that as an actor, his place in society is to act — nothing more. That is why he sees the value in serving his community in other ways, not the value in just being served.
Basso is one of the exceptionally few actors whose mind has broken out of the Hollywood matrix, or perhaps it was never drawn into it in the first place. He will, of course, get pushback from people who want the jesters to entertain and tell us peasants what we should believe. But plenty of people are picking up on it and <a href="https://x.com/friedman_yitz/status/1891935051761303894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appreciating</a> what Basso is doing — me being one. Americans at large are loving his takes, and I would love to see more of this same behavior from other actors. He appreciates the art of acting, but he isn’t obsessed with the popularity that comes with success. That’s precisely why I hope he has 10 times more success in the future and can serve as a lesson to Hollywood to bring more people like him into the industry.

The Kelly Clarkson Show – Season 6

The Star Of ‘Night Agent’ Offers A Glimmer Of Hope In Hollywood

The Star Of 'Night Agent' Offers A Glimmer Of Hope In Hollywood

JD Vance

Netflix

Reagan Conrad

Christian Bale pulled a Rachel Zegler before anyone knew the young actress’ name.
Everyone recalled Bale’s work from the “Dark Knight” trilogy, so when director Ridley Scott cast him in 2014’s “Exodus: Gods and Kings” it mattered. Who wouldn’t want the Oscar winner in their next project?
Then Bale dubbed Moses a “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christian-bale-says-moses-could-be-considered-a-terrorist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terrorist</a>” in publicity interviews for the film.
&#8220;If you&#8217;re not religious, you can look at it as one man&#8217;s freedom fighter is another man&#8217;s terrorist,&#8221; he said of Moses.
<div id="attachment_899039" style="width: 792px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-899039" class="size-large wp-image-899039" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-460174862-782x576.jpg" alt="GOOD MORNING AMERICA - Christian Bale is a guest on &quot;Good Morning America,&quot; 12/5/14, airing on the Walt Disney Television Network. (Photo by Fred Lee/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)" width="782" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-460174862-782x576.jpg 782w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-460174862-300x221.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-460174862-768x566.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-460174862.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px" />Fred Lee/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images</div>
Religious audiences, otherwise curious to see a movie featuring Moses, weren’t amused. The film, despite the talents of Scott and Bale, tanked.
Sound familiar?
By now, everyone knows how Zegler helped crush Disney’s “Snow White” at the box office. She’s not alone, though.
Stars routinely damage their own projects with ill-advised comments. That mostly involves stars getting hyper-political on publicity tours, stoking partisan rage. Many movie goers refuse to see movies made by two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn, for example, due to decades of charged comments.
Just look at Robert De Niro. He has spent nearly a decade savaging President Donald Trump from every available platform. His latest film, “The Alto Knights,” opened to a disastrous $3.1 million despite his gravitas in gangster movies and tackling not one but two mobster roles in the film.
Was it something he said? It can’t be ruled out.
The Zegler fallout, though, is different. And it could be the final warning for stars to heed when they talk to the press moving forward. Anger potential fans at your peril.
<div id="attachment_899013" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-899013" class="size-large wp-image-899013" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2205296417-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 15: Rachel Zegler attends the World Premiere of Disney's Snow White at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2205296417-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2205296417-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2205296417-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2205296417.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney</div>
“Snow White’s” slow-moving car crash began two years ago when <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/rachel-zegler-viral-backlash-snow-white-disney-live-action-rcna99848" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zegler trashed the iconic source material</a> on the red carpet.
“I just mean that it’s no longer 1937 … We absolutely wrote a ‘Snow White’ that &#8230; she’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love; she’s going to be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true.”
<div id="attachment_610047" style="width: 690px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-610047" class="wp-image-610047 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/GettyImages-1243085976-copy1.jpeg" alt="D23 EXPO 2022 - The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by VISA - brings together all the worlds of Disney under one roof for three packed days of presentations, pavilions, experiences, concerts, sneak peeks, shopping, and more. The event, which takes place September 9, 10, and 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center, provides fans with unprecedented access to Disney films, series, games, theme parks, collectibles, and celebrities. (The Walt Disney Company via Getty Images) Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot" width="680" height="504" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/GettyImages-1243085976-copy1.jpeg 680w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/GettyImages-1243085976-copy1-300x222.jpeg 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" />The Walt Disney Company via Getty Images. Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot.</div>
A separate interview found her mocking the story’s male hero, the prince who saves Snow White with a kiss.
“Weird,” she infamously called him, reframing his affection as a “stalker.”
&#8220;It&#8217;s really not about the love story at all, which is really, really wonderful.&#8221;
Tell that to adults who grew up adoring “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the 1937 animated film that helped launch Disney into the pop culture stratosphere. Chances are they introduced the classic story to their children and grandchildren.
That’s the opposite of weird.
Zegler opened her mouth and inserted both feet. Enter an army of YouTube personalities who ran with Zegler’s quotes.
Had she opined in the past, the quotes would have circulated in the press and faded to black. In our digital age, they only got more attention as the months wore on. It got worse when she started braying, “Free Palestine” on social media, another deeply divisive message.
It didn’t help that her co-star, Gal Gadot, is Israeli and served in the IDF.
Then, before the film’s belated March 2025 opening, Zegler raged against President Donald Trump and, more specifically, his supporters. She hoped they would “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disneys-snow-white-actress-attacks-trump-voters-tells-people-to-leave-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never know peace.”</a>
Now, we’re seeing the fruits of her warped words. “Snow White” opened to a dreadful $43 million at the U.S. box office, the worst showing to date for a Disney live-action update. The film had other issues, like Disney disavowing dwarfs as problematic before backpedaling and adding CGI little people.
Zegler’s comments made the most noise, to the film’s detriment.
It’s not enough that Zegler helped sink her own film. The industry called her out for doing just that. Variety ran an <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/snow-white-death-threats-zegler-social-media-guru-1236347433/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exhaustive autopsy</a> on the film’s failure, letting anonymous Disney sources trash the young star. An executive from a different studio also chimed in, “You can’t say that a live-action remake of the most iconic film in the vault that cost [$270] million and has been reshot multiple times opening to $50 million is OK. The math does not work.&#8221;
Media outlets couldn’t hide how damaging her comments had been to the film’s box office potential, even though reporters have yet to connect De Niro’s box office tailspin to his anti-Trump diatribes.
<div id="attachment_899055" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-899055" class="size-large wp-image-899055" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2206051478-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 20: Actress Rachel Zegler is seen leaving &quot;Good Morning America&quot; on March 20, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2206051478-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2206051478-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2206051478-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2206051478.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Raymond Hall/GC Images</div>
Even Jonah Platt, son of “Snow White” producer Marc Platt, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2025/03/27/rachel-zegler-snow-white-marc-platt-jonah/82686271007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weighed in</a> against Zegler.
&#8220;My dad, the producer of (an) enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for … This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film&#8217;s box office.&#8221;
Those Platt quotes also got magnified by legacy media outlets.
Will the Zegler Effect change Hollywood? It could.
Hollywood can&#8217;t afford more “Snow White” debacles. The box office is down, again, this year, and 2024’s numbers suggest pre-pandemic levels of movie going may be gone with the wind.
We&#8217;ll never go back to the Golden Age of Hollywood where the studios controlled what the actors could and couldn&#8217;t say. No one wants or encourages that level of control.
Still, it doesn’t take years of media training to understand a simple policy. Don’t alienate potential audiences when promoting your film or TV show. That shouldn’t be complicated, but apparently it is for some stars.
The Zegler fallout may make some actors think twice before trashing their own films or the people they need to watch them.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

World Premiere Of Walt Disney Studios’ “Snow White”

The Real Cost Of The Rachel Zegler Fallout

Disney

Rachel Zegler

Snow White

Woke Culture

Hollywood is on fire, literally and figuratively.
Dueling strikes shut the industry down in 2023 and it hasn’t fully bounced back. The pandemic chased viewers to the comfort of their couches, pummeling the theatrical experience. YouTube creators are luring eyeballs away from network TV at a fraction of the price point, as are social media platforms and video games.
There’s no better time for a Hollywood Plan B. Could that involve the Lone Star State?
Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey sure think so.
The “True Detective” alums joined forces for <a href="https://x.com/McConaughey/status/1884652597618872439" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a new video campaign</a> tied to Texas-based filmmaking. They’re playing their iconic characters from the HBO series, but this isn’t fiction.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Texas stories deserve a Texas backdrop. That’s why I teamed up with Dennis Quaid, Woody Harrelson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Renée Zellweger for True to Texas. It’s time to bring film and TV productions home! <a href="https://t.co/iMpRMRx2Hj">pic.twitter.com/iMpRMRx2Hj</a>
&mdash; Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) <a href="https://twitter.com/McConaughey/status/1884652597618872439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It’s a bona fide plea for more Texas movie making. The Oscar-winning actor from “Dallas Buyers Club” starts the pitch.
“Hollywood is a flat circle … this industry is like somebody’s memory of an industry, and the memory’s fading. I’m talking about a whole new hub for film and television. A renaissance. A rebirth.”
“A small fraction of Texas budget surplus to turn this state into the new Hollywood,” Harrelson adds.
“If all these other states are going to offer an incentive, then that’s where we’re going to keep going. I just wish we could bring some of these productions home to Texas.” So says fellow Oscar winner Renée Zellweger.
The spot also features fellow Hollywood heavyweights like Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Quaid.
<div id="attachment_870649" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870649" class="size-large wp-image-870649" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2185185061-864x576.jpg" alt="DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 16: Woody Harrelson attends the Global Down Syndrome Foundation's 16th Annual Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show at Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel on November 16, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Tom Cooper/Getty Images for Global Down Syndrome Foundation)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2185185061-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2185185061-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2185185061-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2185185061.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Tom Cooper/Getty Images</div>
This isn’t happening in a vacuum.
California has been shedding TV and film projects for some time. States like Georgia and New Mexico teem with new projects, generated in large part by tax-friendly policies and rebates.
That doesn’t factor in the high price of living in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s struggling state. Have you filled up a car in California these days?
The timing couldn’t be better on the cultural front. Entertainment production no longer caters to the coasts. Joe Rogan moved the comedy epicenter from New York City to Austin, Texas, with his Comedy Mothership club and its unwoke ethos.
<div id="attachment_870669" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870669" class="size-large wp-image-870669" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2179800231-864x576.jpg" alt="AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Joe Rogan looks on in the Paddock prior to the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mark Sutton/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2179800231-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2179800231-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2179800231-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2179800231.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Mark Sutton/Getty Images</div>
Stand-up superstars like Tom Segura, Ron White, Tony Hinchcliffe now call Austin home. Others, like Tyler Fischer and Roseanne Barr, also decamped to the state, at least part time.
To many, Hollywood is no longer exclusively thought of as the sole movie-making hub. Other cities and states are leaning into that new normal.
Nashville productions are on the rise, from Daily Wire exclusives to projects via Universal Music Group Nashville. The latter just created a new production arm with plans to create film and TV projects. Oscar winners Jamie Lee Curtis and Nicole Kidman are shooting Amazon Prime’s “Scarpetta,” an episode drama in Nashville <a href="https://wbkr.com/nicole-kidman-jamie-lee-curtis-to-film-crime-series-in-nashville/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">through February</a>.
Superstar Mark Wahlberg wants to make Las Vegas “Hollywood East.” The “Flight Risk” star hopes to spearhead <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mark-wahlberg-wants-las-vegas-210015408.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAN2tOcOAJ2iSv_bSzRVvQNxMSfDXob7TqLVBSfH-dAbH2LxgVos7cZmbLJP9TXKzjd8Dc5xVU61GoT2BkUlWfHSha5E0Pzy4WJGT5aTGgu1M7N2s7DI5UKFFL82FVLnsyIiSQGObDFD8LL-8F5V9xScC2W3v_SZ778RVSQj6u_yy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a $1.8 billion Sony studio</a> in the state to compete with Hollywood.
“I think ultimately that would be the goal. <a href="https://www.fox5vegas.com/2024/10/18/mark-walhberg-wants-california-movie-studios-follow-his-move-nevada/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">They all used to make movies right there in LA</a> and people don’t do it anymore,” Wahlberg said.
He’ll have some company.
Warner Bros. Discovery also has its eye on Las Vegas. Warner Bros. Studios Nevada, a plan dependent on the state’s tax credit structure, would bring more filmmaking to the state.
So why not Texas? 
The state offers endless vistas worthy of a cinematic closeup. Small Town USA? Check! Big, bustling urban centers like Dallas? Covered. Texas’s red-state policies mean cost-of-living issues won’t upend productions, and it’s far less dysfunctional than the Golden State.
And top-tier stars are singing the state’s praises in a very public forum. When a Dennis Quaid, a star for nearly 50 years, suggests a state needs a close-up, people should listen.
Previously, Owen Wilson and Glen Powell joined with McConaughey and Thornton to buoy Texas filmmaking with a similar 2023 video.
<div id="attachment_870645" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870645" class="size-large wp-image-870645" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2189988716-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 14: Billy Bob Thornton attends the SAG Nom Comm screening of &quot;Landman&quot; at DGA Theater Complex on December 14, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2189988716-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2189988716-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2189988716-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2189988716.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+</div>
<a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/markets-festivals/yellowstone-mayor-of-kingstown-texas-film-production-1236004446/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The infrastructure is in place</a>, too. The state approved a $200 million grant last year, that runs through August, to entice more projects. That got Taylor Sheridan’s attention.
The biggest name in episodic TV chose Texas for both his home and a sprawling real estate enterprise planning to host film and TV productions down the short road. His latest smash, Paramount+’s “Landman,” filmed in Fort Worth, Texas.
<a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/2025/01/31/matthew-mcconaughey-woody-harrelson-push-for-more-texas-film-incentives-in-ad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sheridan made a personal pitch for Texas</a> last fall before the state’s Senate Finance Committee.
“We desperately need the employees. I would much, much, much rather hire a Texas local than fly in somebody from another state,” Sheridan said.
Some Texas-based Republicans have split feelings about the Hollywood influx. Newsweek reports several officials <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/matthew-mcconaugheys-push-hollywood-texas-divides-republicans-2023842" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recoiled at the thought</a> of Hollywood’s progressive values inundating the state.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller put the brakes on the plan via X. He’s all for Texas-based productions but <a href="https://x.com/MillerForTexas/status/1884987688182268146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposes tax rebates to make it possible</a>.
Hollywood is dying. Productions can&#8217;t get out of California fast enough. Texas will benefit without subsidizing the folks that brought us woke, anti-Christian bigotry, socialism, transgenderism, etc.
Hollywood diehards may resist the Texas two-step. Loyalists could prefer to bring production back to La La Land, especially to help those impacted by the wildfires. Others may rebuke red-state values infecting their progressive industry.
Pragmatism may rule the day. If major stars like Quaid, McConaughey and Zellweger want more Texas-based shoots, and the costs aren’t prohibitive, we may be hearing, “Action!” more and more in the Lone Star State.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Clemson v Texas – Playoff First Round

‘A Whole New Hub’: Movie Stars Stump For Filming Deep In The Heart Of Texas

'A Whole New Hub': Movie Stars Stump For Filming Deep In The Heart Of Texas

Film

Matthew McConaughey

Woody Harrelson

Well, the Oscar nominations are in and I don’t care either. But it is interesting to note that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Other Wastes of God’s Precious Gift of Life, have chosen to nominate movies no one saw, celebrating perversions no one cares about in order to parade a virtue they don’t have to an audience that is no longer there. In doing this, Hollywood is sending a message to the people formerly known as moviegoers.
And the message is this: “Screw you. We hate you. Come and see our movies. Die, you scum. Look how pretty we are in our designer gowns. You stink. You’re stupid. You live in the Midwest which has cooties. Please love us. Please read an article about how we sleep with each other and then break up. We hate you, we hate you, we hate you. Pay attention to us. Look, I’m wearing a dress even though I’m a boy. Don’t I disgust you? Why don’t you love me? Look, I made a movie about boys who sleep with other boys and hate their fathers. Why didn’t you go to see my movie, Daddy? Because you suck, you stink, you’re hateful and awful. Love me, love me, I hate you. Watch my Oscar show where I wear a pretty dress and get a golden statue. Then bugger off and die because you stink, you stink, just like my Daddy. Die, die, die. Love me, love me, die.”
Don’t blame me. That’s the message from Hollywood. I’m just reading it out loud.
Now, to give you an idea of just how few people are going to be watching an award show that was once a shared American cultural moment on the order of the Super Bowl, let me give you a rundown of some of the crappiest nominees.
There’s “The Brutalist,” a three and a half hour movie about an architect named Laszlo Toth, which is also the name of the Hungarian madman who, in 1972, attacked Michelangelo’s Pieta with a hammer because he thought he was God and should therefore be able to destroy everything that humans find holy and beautiful… kind of like Disney with the Star Wars franchise. 
Then there’s “Anora,” a pornographic attempt to normalize what was once called prostitution but is now called “sex work” by Hollywood leftists and pimps, but I repeat myself.
And of course, there’s “Emilia Perez,” a musical about a transexual drug lord that got a twenty-two audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s not a percentage, that’s the actual number of people who made up the audience for “Emilia Perez.”
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show on DailyWire+</a></h3>
Now some of you may be thinking: Oh Klavan, don’t pick on Hollywood. After all, the people there just had everything they own consumed by a conflagration that is the merest hint of what eternity is going to look like for them if they keep making movies glorifying prostitution, perversion and brutalist architecture. And anyway, even though their movies suck, it will still be fun to watch them stand up with their jackpot genes draped in designer gowns and praise themselves for spitting on the values of what used to be their audience until they started spitting on our values by making films glorifying perversion, prostitution and brutalist architecture.
And of course, what could be more edifying than watching one of these uniquely privileged, gifted, and beautiful moral dungheaps in human form, take time off from having sex with his second ex-wife before picking up his abandoned child at rehab to give him a lift home to his soon-to-be THIRD ex-wife before abandoning both of them in order to marry his new girlfriend just as soon as she reaches the age of consent — I say what could be more edifying than watching such a person win a now-meaningless trophy for a morally repugnant movie no one saw and then stand up and give a speech lecturing us on what moral choices we should make if we want to win his approval?
So Hollywood, yes, we’ve received your message. And we’ve filed it — and you — with our Kodak cameras and our Woodstock bell bottoms and other things that used to seem like they would matter forever, but now no longer matter at all.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. He is the bestselling author of the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A WOMAN UNDERGROUND</a>,” is now available. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

FRANCE-FILM-FESTIVAL-CANNES

Hollywood’s Message: ‘Screw You, Moviegoers — Now Go Watch Our Movies’

Hollywood's Message: 'Screw You, Moviegoers — Now Go Watch Our Movies'

Academy Awards

Andrew Klavan

Gender

Humor

Los Angeles

Oscars

Satire

Transgender

Sitcom stars are supposed to fade away, toil in the reality show trenches or spark sad TMZ headlines.
Justine Bateman hasn’t just shattered those low expectations. She’s become Tinsel Town’s voice of uncommon reason.
Bateman played Mallory on the ‘80s smash “Family Ties.” The NBC sitcom made Micheal J. Fox a superstar and showed a wholesome clash between the Left and the Right during the Reagan era.
<div id="attachment_860471" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860471" class="wp-image-860471 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Family-Ties-mallory.jpg" alt="Justine Bateman. &quot;Family Ties.&quot; 1982. Episode: &quot;Read It and Weep: Part 2. Paramount Television. Ubu Productions. IMDB." width="500" height="375" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Family-Ties-mallory.jpg 500w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Family-Ties-mallory-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" />&#8220;Family Ties.&#8221; 1982. Paramount Television. Ubu Productions. IMDB.</div>
This wasn’t a “Crossfire” style shooting match but a family pushing past their political differences. The show ran for seven seasons and propelled Bateman into the running for a feature film career.
Her breakout role in “Satisfaction” (1988) didn’t catch fire. She still appeared on the big and small screen for the next two decades.
<div id="attachment_860425" style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860425" class="wp-image-860425 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Satisfaction-1988.jpg" alt="20th Century Fox." width="350" height="500" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Satisfaction-1988.jpg 350w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Satisfaction-1988-210x300.jpg 210w" sizes=" (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" />20th Century Fox.</div>
She eventually switched to gigs behind the camera, writing and directing indie films. She directed the 2008 documentary “Speechless” about the Writer’s Guild of America strike. And 2021’s “Violet” may not have crashed the zeitgeist but it did attract reputable stars like Justin Theroux and Olivia Munn.
She also formed her own production company, Section 5. By 2018 she officially became a published author with the release of “FAME: The Hijacking of Reality.” Her second book, “FACE: One Square Foot of Skin,” would soon follow in 2021.
Still, she was working on her craft and, more importantly, observing the cultural landscape.
Now, she has a lot to say and plenty of people are nodding along. Bateman started speaking out in 2023 against AI’s reach into Hollywood fare.
Along with a host of Hollywood pals, she then launched the non-profit Credo 23 Film Festival, whose stated mission is to support and certify filmmakers who pledge not to use AI in their films. She became a voice during the dueling Hollywood strikes, warning what it meant to <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/11/justine-bateman-sag-aftra-deal-ai-1235616848/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remove humans from the creative process.</a>
“I think generative AI is one of the worst ideas we’ve ever had in this society,” she told Deadline after the SAG AFTRA strike ended in 2023.
<div id="attachment_860829" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860829" class="size-large wp-image-860829" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1734215971-768x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 18: Noah Wyle and Justine Bateman are seen at SAG-AFTRA Strike at Warner Brothers Studios on October 18, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JOCE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1734215971-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1734215971-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1734215971.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />JOCE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images</div>
She spoke with confidence and clarity at a time when many stars might have been too afraid to even touch how AI could impact the creative process. She was back in the spotlight but on her terms.
Her breakout moment came last year after the presidential election results poured in.
“Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years,” she posted on X, a line that has now generated more than 6 million views.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years.
&mdash; Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustineBateman/status/1854911656289071200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That cryptic quote touched a nerve. And, like a Hollywood veteran who understands her audience, she leaned into the sentiment. She excoriated Cancel Culture and the “woke mind virus” without using those specific terms. She sensed a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/family-ties-star-justine-bateman-says-trumps-election-lifted-suffocating-cloud-free-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free speech comeback</a> under a second Trump administration without ever putting on a red hat.
<blockquote>I feel like there was this kind of suffocating cloud that was kind of over us… Regular people who had questions about decisions that were being made were threatened subtly or obviously into silence. And I feel like that&#8217;s been broken, that sort of suppression has been kind of broken.</blockquote>
She embraced X and Substack as her platforms of choice, snagging major interviews with the likes of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-gqn0PA5cU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megyn Kelly</a> along the way.
Through her metamorphosis, she refused to align with a political party. It’s not about politics, she insisted, drawing more fans in the process.
Sometimes common sense has a political bias in the 21st century.
<h3><a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a></h3>
She also began a series of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actress-delivers-brutal-film-critics-take-on-trump-victory-meltdown-videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tongue-in-cheek video reviews</a> where she assessed amateur filmmakers melting down over the election results. She wasn’t cruel or cutting, but she offered professional advice that similarly went viral.
Hashtag #SocialMediaVideoCritique
Here’s just one example:
“The second major issue is the unpredictability of the camera movements. Because the emotions are high, the scene would have benefitted from a locked-off camera position, or a slow, graceful movement. The jiggling of the camera doubles down on the emotions and is overkill.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8211; The second major issue is the unpredictability of the camera movements. Because the emotions are high, the scene would have benefitted from a locked-off camera position, or a slow, graceful movement. The jiggling of the camera doubles down on the emotions, and is overkill. 2/
&mdash; Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustineBateman/status/1854370733624881596?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
She has called out <a href="https://x.com/JustineBateman/status/1859834375904559444" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incompetent California Democrats</a> for the wildfires fiasco while high-profile comedians like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2LFwMKbr5c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jon Stewart spin on their behalf</a>. It’s not partisan to excoriate a mayor who directs those impacted by wildfires to visit “<a href="https://nypost.com/2025/01/09/us-news/la-mayor-karen-bass-blunders-way-through-warnings-on-the-big-one/">URL</a>.”
She even blasted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for depositing themselves in the middle of the wildfires tragedy, dubbing them <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/family-ties-star-justine-bateman-says-trumps-election-lifted-suffocating-cloud-free-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Disaster Tourists.”</a> That label may linger.
She’s even struck a blow against Hollywood ageism. She’s refused to get plastic surgery or Botox, letting the world see her 50-something face without apology. It’s not easy to greet the public as a fresh-faced teen on a hit sitcom and age like the rest of us. She’s proud of her accomplishments over her vanity.
<div id="attachment_860487" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860487" class="wp-image-860487 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-864x576.jpg" alt="Justine Bateman directing her film short, &quot;Five Minutes.&quot; Photo by Steven Meiers." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Justine Bateman directing her film short, &#8220;Five Minutes.&#8221; Photo by Steven Meiers.</div>
One irony stands out.
Bateman’s brother, Jason Bateman, has been one of Hollywood’s more popular stars through the years. He, too, cut his teeth on sitcom fare like “Silver Spoons” and “The Hogan Family.” He kept working on high-profile projects, from iconic comedies (“Arrested Development”) to comedic film franchises (“Horrible Bosses”).
His star rose higher when he anchored Netflix’s “Ozark,” and his recent string of successes includes “Air” (2023) and “Carry On,” one of Netflix’s most popular original films. He also co-hosts “Smartless,” one of the podcasting realm’s biggest shows alongside Will Arnett and Sean Hayes.
Jason Bateman has been mostly silent on the culture war front. He’s a Democrat but he hasn’t shouted his views from the rafters. He proved more sly, literally <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UIZER9rMe8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lending his voice</a> to the progressive cause. He appears to be of a different mindset than his older sister, but the two speak fondly of one another in public forums.
He’s been far more “successful” in Hollywood parlance, but Justine Bateman’s cultural impact appears far greater at the moment. She has found her cultural voice, and she’s only warming up.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
This article has been edited for clarity.

MixCollage-17-Jan-2025-01-13-PM-125

Tinsel Town’s Voice Of Uncommon Reason

Tinsel Town's Voice Of Uncommon Reason

California

Cancel Culture

Menu