Tinsel Town has turned some of the biggest movie genres against Heartland USA.
Science Fiction? James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise doubles as a climate change screed, while his “Terminator” franchise diminished Arnold Schwarzenegger in favor of a Girl Power aesthetic with the 2019 “Dark Fate” installment. Recent Marvel Cinematic Universe films hyper focus on LGBTQ themes and aggressive diversity casting over, you know, fun.
Horror? Woke shockers like “Antebellum,” “Candyman,” and “They/Them” speak for themselves.
Is the Western next?
A new short film, albeit one featuring two major stars, is getting plenty of buzz.
Shot in southern Spain’s Tabernas desert, “<a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/global/pedro-almodovar-gay-western-strange-way-of-life-italy-latin-america-mubi-1235580205/">Strange Way of Life</a>” stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as two gunmen who reunite after 25 years. The half-hour film has been described by [Pedro] Almodóvar as a “queer Western, in the sense that there are two men and they love each other,” the director said last December on Dua Lipa’s “At Your Service” podcast. 
It&#8217;s “Brokeback Mountain” redux. One could also say it’s a kissing cousin to “The Power of the Dog.” That 2021 Netflix original featured a closeted gay cowboy (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his connection with a local outcast (Kodi Smit-McPhee).
The film earned 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
The latest spin on “revisionist Westerns” could be the new normal, and it involves more than closeted gay cowboys revealing their sexual appetites. 
The Western is as American as baseball, apple pie, and reality TV. The genre thrives on rugged individualism, masculine heroes, and themes that speak to the country’s character. Classic Westerns like “High Noon” (1952), “Shane” (1953), and “The Searchers” (1956) taught generations about sacrifice, honor, and what it means to be a man.
In short, it’s the American experiment.
The Western hero was far from perfect. He might drink too much or struggle with his emotions. When danger came, however, the townsfolk knew who to call. He didn’t blame others or wallow in his misery. He got his hands dirty and set to work.
Female heroes mattered, too.
Movies like The Daily Wire’s “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/terror-on-the-prairie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Terror on the Prairie</a>” featured a strong female lead (Gina Carano), but the essential Western elements surrounded her brave defense of her nuclear family.
The Nicolas Cage/Nick Searcy indie “The Old Way” followed a gunslinger (Cage) training his daughter how to sling lead to protect herself. 
The Western’s DNA is anathema to major film studios. Too much toxic masculinity, they say. Where is the diversity? Why are these stories glorifying guns for self-defense?
Is “Strange Way of Life” a sign of stories to come?
The Western faded from the pop culture landscape in the late 20th century years as legends like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood either passed or passed on the white hats to a new generation. Oaters became passe, as CGI fueled a string of blockbuster movies and superhero adaptations.
The genre never went away. TV shows like “Longmire,” “Justified,” and, more recently, “Yellowstone” captured the Western’s ethos despite modern trappings. Each enjoyed sizable success, with the latter becoming one of the most popular shows across the cluttered streaming landscape.
Few stories inspire as much passion, and viewer loyalty, as the ongoing Dutton saga.
Subverting the Western fits snugly into liberal Hollywood’s worldview. Movies once celebrated the American way of life, extolling freedom, self-reliance, and sacrifice against impossible odds. Now, the films that celebrate all-American principles (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/affleck-damon-deliver-with-air-a-pro-capitalism-three-pointer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like the recent “Air”</a>) stand out as exceptions to the pop culture rule.
And, of course, American culture is swiftly shared across the globe, our most curious export. While Chinese movies praise the communist nation and its achievements, American filmmakers (under no such governmental pressure) often do the opposite.
The Western must be demystified, rearranged, and revised to blast the past and embrace the new American ethos. Films like 2017’s “Hostiles” turn on the mistreatment of the American Indian, a valid theme that often swamps storytelling essentials.
Even the liberal RogerEbert.com review noted that Christian Bale film <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hostiles-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lacks nuanced portraits of the Indian characters</a>. Woke sensibilities make it harder to turn minority figures into flesh-and-blood souls. 

This doesn’t mean a film genre needs to be replicated over and again.
Previous revisionist Westerns cling to the genre’s core elements. Many rightly praised Clint Eastwood’s 1992 classic “Unforgiven,” a look at a gunslinger reflecting on his violent handiwork. Some genres need a nip or a tuck to bring them back to life.
Other revisionist classics include “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), “Little Big Man” (1970), and “Django Unchained” (2012).
American audiences always crave the Western essentials, though, which means classic Westerns will find new generations to delight. Let’s hope they can enjoy newer versions alongside the classics. One might come from Mr. “Yellowstone” himself.
Costner is set to direct “Horizon,” a sprawling Western set before, and after the Civil War. The large cast, including Costner, Jena Malone, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Haden Church, promises to tell its story through multiple perspectives.
Chances are there’s enough Dutton left in Costner to make “Horizon” a worthy addition to a deeply American film genre.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Clint Eastwood

Does Hollywood Want To Wrest The Western Out Of Conservative Hands?

Ethan Hawke

Hollywood

Kevin Costner

LGBTQ

Movies

Pedro Pascal

Readers Pass

Terror on the Prairie

Top Gun: Maverick Film Premiere

32 Conservative Movies That Defy The Hollywood Trend

Adam Carolla

Conservatives

Entertainment

Top Gun

U.S.

What Is A Woman

Clint Eastwood&#8217;s daughter, Alison Eastwood, has nothing but praise for her parents who she said made the decision to raise her and her brother, Kyle Eastwood, outside &#8220;of the Hollywood scene.&#8221;
The 50-year-old actress opened up to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/clint-eastwood-daughter-alison-hollywood-animal-rescue">Fox News</a> about what she called a &#8220;magical upbringing&#8221; being raised in the small town of Carmel, California, far away from the hustle and bustle of tinsel town, the outlet noted in a piece published Friday. Her father was a true movie star and her mother, Maggie Johnson was an actress.
&#8220;Carmel is a beautiful place and I think my parents really wanted to get out of Hollywood to raise their kids,&#8221; Eastwood shared. &#8220;When my dad was in the army, he was stationed in the Monterey peninsula, so he loved the area.&#8221;
&#8220;And my mom fell in love with it too,&#8221; she added. &#8220;They both lived in LA, but when it came time to raise a family, they felt it was important to get out of the Hollywood scene.&#8221;
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<a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B6tXdbhhYbH/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Alison Eastwood (@alison.e.wood)</a>
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&#8220;I&#8217;m glad they did because it was a very magical upbringing,&#8221; the star continued.  &#8220;We lived surrounded by the forest where we had baby deer, raccoons – all sorts of wildlife. And we were right on the ocean. My brother and I would just go outside and enjoy nature. I think that&#8217;s why I love animals and nature so much because I grew up in that kind of environment. It&#8217;s hard not to appreciate it on a very deep level.&#8221;
The daughter of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clint-eastwood-offers-surprising-support-for-this-2020-candidate">famed Hollywood legend</a> ended up following in her father&#8217;s footsteps. Alison said he never &#8220;encouraged&#8221; her to pursue acting as a career, but was very supportive when she told him she was going to give it a shot.
&#8220;He [Eastwood] just simply told us that we could do whatever we wanted as long as it made us happy,&#8221; the &#8220;Absolute Power&#8221; star shared. &#8220;At first, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but when I reached high school, I was told I had to go to college for eight years.&#8221;
&#8220;At the time, I didn&#8217;t want to do that,&#8221; she added. &#8220;So I ended up getting into the film world, not just with acting, but also working behind the scenes. My dad would simply say, &#8216;If this makes you happy, go for it.'&#8221;
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/matthew-mcconaugheys-wife-opens-up-on-their-decision-to-leave-malibu-for-a-life-that-embodies-their-belief-system-in-texas">Matthew McConaughey&#8217;s Wife Opens Up On Their Decision To Leave Malibu For A Life That &#8216;Embodies&#8217; Their &#8216;Belief System&#8217; In Texas</a>

Alison Eastwood, Clint Eastwood-2

Clint Eastwood’s Daughter Talks About Her Parents’ Decision To ‘Raise’ Children Outside ‘Of The Hollywood Scene’

Clint Eastwood’s Daughter Talks About Parents Decision To ‘Raise’ Children Outside ‘Of The Hollywood Scene’

Celebrities

Parenting

No conservative critic wants to admit that any Clint Eastwood film is less than great. Especially when it’s a film like “Cry Macho” whose strong, stoic lead implicitly thumbs his nose at notions like “toxic masculinity” while still acknowledging the tough guy cliché can be a burden when you no longer fit the mold.
In 1980, ranch boss Howard (Dwight Yoakum) calls in a favor from washed up bull-rider Mike Milo (Eastwood). He wants him to retrieve his wild 13-year-old son from the boy’s mother in Mexico City. When Mike arrives south of the border, he discovers that young Rafo (Eduardo Minett) has fled his glamorous drunk of a custodial parent and is instead living on the streets, making a living cockfighting with his rooster, Macho.
Having suffered at the hands of mom’s many boyfriends, Rafo has learned not to trust men. He’s willing to give Mike a chance, though, because Mike’s a real cowboy and has the cynical, world-weary squint to prove it.
As they wind along dusty roads, headed for the promised land of Texas, the pair form a cautious bond. Their trust in one another becomes all the more vital once Rafo’s madre decides she isn’t so willing to let him go after all and sends the police and a hired henchman after him.
On the face of it, Mike and Milo&#8217;s father-son-style relating while evading Federales and gangsters should be the high points of the film. Instead, it all falls awkwardly flat, not least because both Eastwood and his young co-star are off their acting games. Their dialogue, already too on-the-nose for believability, is delivered with all nuance and depth of a high school play. But the story also struggles to hold attention because, in the immortal words of Danny Glover in “Lethal Weapon,” Eastwood may simply be getting too old for this stuff.
At 91, he is still eminently capable of masterful work, as we saw with his direction of 2019’s “Richard Jewell” and his performance in 2018’s “The Mule.” But he can no longer do all things. And believing that a nonagenarian is capable of punching out a thug half his age, attracting a woman a third of his age, and breaking a wild mustang a bare fraction of his age requires too much suspension of disbelief.
Thankfully, at the midpoint, the story arrives in a place that illustrates the more authentic charisma Eastwood has developed at this stage of his career — the kind that understands that in a field of monosyllabic race car drivers and roided-out superheroes, the most manly attribute one can display is quiet capability. Not beating people up, but fixing old machinery and winning over wary strangers with years of hard-earned wisdom.
In a tiny cantina in a backwater pueblo, Mike meets a widowed señora who understands that it isn’t good for women to be alone any more than men. With their slow, chaste courtship, Mike’s journey takes a surprisingly romantic and lovely turn.
That may not be the tale that audiences signed up for with “Cry Macho,” but it&#8217;s the one part of the film they’ll be glad they saw.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

rev-1-CM-06412-CFr_High_Res_JPEG

‘Macho’ Fails To Move

The 1980s will always be associated with President Ronald Reagan, and for very good reason. It was “morning in America” again, a time when optimism roared back after President Jimmy Carter’s patented “malaise.” Pop culture often reflected that spirit, brimming with muscular heroes who saved the day without handwringing.
Stallone. Willis. Schwarzenegger. Van Damme. Norris.
The era also featured pop culture characters who embodied, in one shape or another, the decade’s conservative mien. Some thrived on the small screen. Others made their mark (and their day) on theaters nationwide.
Here are ten characters who left an indelible mark on the culture, and did so while embracing smaller government and the American Dream. They weren’t all heroes, though, but each captured a component of conservatism in engaging ways.
1. ​Alex P. Keaton
The minds behind the NBC sitcom “Family Ties” created the character as the perfect foil for his hippie parents. Michael J. Fox upended those plans, much to the producers’ delight. Yes, Alex didn’t win every battle with progressive Ma and Pa, but he became the show’s breakout star. Fox’s swift wit and indefatigable spirit left even liberal viewers laughing with, not at, the character.
Liberal Slate noted how Fox “made conservatism seem at once upstanding and rebellious.”
<div id="attachment_132597" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-132597" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-132597" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Family-Ties-883x576.jpg" alt="FAMILY TIES -- 'Be True to your Preschool' Episode 1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton, Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton, Marc Price as Erwin 'Skippy' Handleman -- Photo by: Ron Tom/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank" width="800" height="522" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/Family-Ties-883x576.jpg 883w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/Family-Ties-300x196.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/Family-Ties-768x501.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/Family-Ties.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Ron Tom/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images</div>
2. Thornton Melon
Rodney Dangerfield proved an unlikely conservative hero in the 1986 comedy &#8220;Back to School.&#8221; The film’s focus stuck to the ultimate sight gag – the gray, out of shape stand-up acting like a college freshman.
Thornton Melon delivered more than killer one-liners. He was a self-made man who built his small business into an empire of “Big and Fat” stores. He hoped his son Jason (Keith Gordon) would follow in his footsteps, but with a twist. Thornton’s immigrant parents bemoaned his academic failures, and he didn’t want Jason to repeat those mistakes.
It’s why he “bribed” his way into college and, later, caused comic chaos in the grand Dangerfield tradition.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Back to School Official Trailer #1 - Burt Young Movie (1986) HD" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bnvwN8yntok?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
3. “Dirty” Harry Callahan
Clint Eastwood’s rule-smashing cop stormed box offices during the 1970s, drawing shrieks from liberal film critics like Pauline Kael. She called Eastwood’s no-nonsense cop a fascist, and worse. Audiences ignored her pleas, turning Dirty Harry into a cultural force alongside Charles Bronson’s “Death Wish” anti-hero.
“Dirty Harry” spawned four sequels, pushing the character’s story deep into the Reagan era. In fact, Dirty Harry’s most famous line came from the 1983 film “Sudden Impact.”
“Go ahead … make my day.” Does that sound like a progressive’s approach to crime?
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Sudden Impact - Theatrical Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8AnAgwxJk0Y?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
4. John McClane
Bruce Willis’ character smoked, cracked wise and saved hundreds of lives after terrorists commandeered Nakatomi Plaza in 1989’s “Die Hard.” The character’s blue collar bona fides, from his tattered undershirt to his quest to reunite with his feminist bride, are unquestionable.
His self-given nickname? “Roy,” as in Roy Rogers. He spouted western catchphrases and proved more heroic than his estranged wife’s beta co-workers.
The only thing conservatives argue about “Die Hard” now is whether it’s an official Christmas movie or not.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Die Hard (1988) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jaJuwKCmJbY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
5. George Jefferson
The patriarch of the beloved long-running sitcom &#8220;The Jeffersons&#8221; (1975-1985) is another example of the American dream in action.
Jefferson, played with panache by Sherman Hemsley, used an insurance settlement to fund his own business, one that eventually led him to a “deee-lux apartment in the sky.”
The show, as well as the characters, explored race and class far more than politics. “The Jeffersons” sprang to life after successful appearances on “All in the Family,” including a 1974 episode where George ran for local office on the Republican ticket.
<div id="attachment_132600" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-132600" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-132600" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/The-Jeffersons-752x576.jpg" alt="The cast of the TV sitcom 'The Jeffersons' (L-R Berlinda Tolbert, Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Franklin Cover, Roxie Roker and Marla Gibbs (seated)) circa 1977 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)" width="800" height="613" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/The-Jeffersons-752x576.jpg 752w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/The-Jeffersons-300x230.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/The-Jeffersons-768x588.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/The-Jeffersons.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images</div>
6. Gordon Gekko
The man who proclaimed, “Greed is good” gave 1987’s “Wall Street” its outsized villain. The role also delivered Michael Douglas his first and only Best Actor Oscar (to date).
Director Oliver Stone created Gordon Gekko to critique Wall Street excess, and he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. The slick hair. The suspenders. The take-no-prisoners attitude.
For better and worse the image stuck. Gekko didn’t put conservatism in a positive light, but you couldn’t take your eyes off him. It pained co-writer Stanley Weiser that some embraced the character as a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2008/10/wall-street-s-co-writer-on-gordon-gekko-the-man-and-the-misunderstood-legend">hero of sorts</a>, in the years following the film’s release.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Wall Street (1/5) Movie CLIP - The Art of War (1987) HD" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-TLCaDbBv_s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
7. The “Ghostbusters”
Few films show the folly of government overreach quite like this 1984 comedy classic. There’s nothing political about Bill Murray flirting with Sigourney Weaver, or Harold Ramis tinkering with ghostly traps. Still, the quartet’s war against New York bureaucrats, and their self-determination, make them unofficial Libertarians at the very least.
That was <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/18/18682991/ghostbusters-original-reboot-sequel-director-ivan-reitman-interview">no accident</a>, according to the film’s director, Ivan Reitman.
“I’ve been sort of a Libertarian,” Reitman says. “I’m actually a double immigrant. Coming to Canada from Czechoslovakia and then immigrating to America from Canada did make me believe in the power of capitalism and the power of the intelligent individual which has been a theme from many of my films.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Ghostbusters (1984) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6hDkhw5Wkas?start=20&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
8. Rocky Balboa
The Italian Stallion’s 1976 debut proved Manna from Heaven for conservatives, especially coming in the wake of President Nixon’s calamitous fall. Sylvester Stallone’s unlikely hero stood toe-to-toe with the champ, capturing the American dream via a sweaty, if imperfect, metaphor. The star fashioned the character’s journey on Christian principles.
“This is a story of faith, integrity and victory. Jesus is the inspiration for anyone to go the distance,” <a href="https://www1.cbn.com/700club/sylvester-stallone-faith-integrity-and-rocky-balboa">commented</a> Stallone.
Rocky Balboa’s cinematic arc eventually took him to the Soviet Union in 1985 where he squared off against Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in “Rocky IV.” The brawler proved the Italian Stallion’s toughest foe, but the athlete stood for more than boxing greatness.
Drago fought for Mother Russia, and Rocky entered the ring wearing his old pal Apollo Creed’s red, white and blue trunks. Audiences responded by making it the highest grossing “Rocky” film to date.
Rocky didn’t win the Cold War. It took President Ronald Reagan to make that happen. However, Stallone’s most iconic character did all he could to rally conservatives stateside with his most patriotic effort to date.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Rocky IV Official Trailer #1 - Burt Young Movie (1985) HD" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mIE5HYkzvV0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
9. Arthur Fonzarelli
The coolest character on TV from 1974 to 1984 cared more about chicks than trickle-down economics. Still, when “Happy Days” got political on one combustible episode the key characters had to pick sides.
Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) went with Adlai Stevenson, the well-spoken ‘50s Democrat. Why? Richie had a crush on a local girl who also supported the Democrat’s campaign.
Fonzie (Henry Winkler) threw his support behind the Republican in the race, incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower. Why?
“Hey, he won the war for you, didn’t he?” Fonzie told the crowd. “If Ike loses, the Fonz is gonna be maaaaaad.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Fonz · Top 10 Entrances" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X4DYmZJj_x8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
10. Arthur Carlson
The “big guy” at “WKRP in Cincinnati” gave this workplace comedy its weekly villain, but the show’s writers afforded him his humanity along the way. Carlson, a former Marine, wasn’t a monster. He epitomized corporate buffoonery, no doubt, and he often seemed clueless compared to his underlings.
Gordon Jump’s character also believed in a higher power and often stood up for his motley crew of DJs and assorted talent.
The far-left AV Club breaks down a critical episode where Carlson comes up big in the battle for free expression. A Jerry Falwell type (Richard Paul) threatens to lead a boycott against the station for its so-called naughty playlist. Carlson was a man of faith, but he <a href="https://tv.avclub.com/10-episodes-of-screwball-hilarity-and-social-commentary-1798269228">stood up to the attacks</a> on his station’s behalf.
“But it’s Carlson—an uptight conservative who had disapproved of rock ’n’ roll since season one — who finds the moral courage to stand up for the station’s freedom of expression.”
<div id="attachment_132602" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-132602" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-132602" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WKRP-873x576.jpg" alt="WKRP IN CINCINNATI featuring (from left) Richard Sanders (as Les Nessman); Frank Bonner (as Herb Tarlek); Gordon Jump (as Arthur Carlson, 'Big Guy'); Loni Anderson (as Jennifer Marlow), sitting on lap of: Howard Hesseman (as Johnny Caravella 'Dr. Johnny Fever'); Gary Sandy (as Andy Travis); Tim Reid (as Gordon Sims, 'Venus Flytrap); and Jan Smithers (as Bailey Quarters). Image dated 1980. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) " width="800" height="528" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/WKRP-873x576.jpg 873w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/WKRP-300x198.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/WKRP-768x507.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/07/WKRP.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />CBS via Getty Images</div>
More from Christian Toto: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/toto-7-leftist-hollywood-myths-that-need-a-serious-debunking">7 Leftist Hollywood Myths That Need A Serious Debunking</a>

Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact

TOTO: 10 Unforgettable Conservative Characters From The ‘80s

Conservatism

Clinton Eastwood has always been an anomaly &#8212; a conservative in Hollywood.
And the &#8220;Dirty Harry&#8221; actor, a former mayor of Carmel-By-The-Sea, Ca., has always been active in politics &#8212; even now at 89 years old. On Friday, he weighed in on the 2020 presidential race, picking a candidate you might not have expected.
&#8220;The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there,&#8221; Eastwood told the <a href="http://apkmetro.com/a-hollywood-legend-talks-politics/">Wall Street Journal.</a>
The actor, who now describes himself as a libertarian who has &#8220;respect for other people’s ideas and is willing to learn constantly,&#8221; said President Donald Trump has done &#8220;certain things&#8221; that he supported. But he said he does not appreciate the &#8220;ornery&#8221; state of current politics and would like the president to act &#8220;in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names.&#8221;
&#8220;I would personally like for him to not bring himself to that level,&#8221; Eastwood said.
Eastwood set the political world on fire in 2012 when he gave his famous &#8220;empty-chair&#8221; speech at the Republican National Convention. In the speech, Eastwood, then backing GOP candidate Mitt Romney, conducted a mock interview with the chair, representing President Barack Obama.
&#8220;What do you want me to tell Romney?&#8221; Eastwood asked the empty chair. &#8220;I can&#8217;t tell him to do that to himself &#8230; you&#8217;re getting as bad as [former vice president Joe] Biden &#8230; of course we all know Biden is the intellect of the Democratic Party. Kind of a grin with a body behind it &#8230;&#8221;
Eastwood later asked, &#8220;Mr, President, how do you handle promises that you have made when you were running for election, and how do you handle them? I mean, what do you say to people?&#8221;
No answer from the empty chair.
Eastwood concluded his speech saying: &#8220;When somebody doesn&#8217;t do the job, you gotta let &#8217;em go,&#8221; as he drew a finger across his throat.
Before the 2016 election, Eastwood told Esquire magazine he was supporting Trump over Hillary Clinton, adding that his anti-Obama views influenced his decision.
&#8220;I&#8217;d have to go for Trump &#8230; you know, &#8217;cause she&#8217;s declared that she&#8217;s gonna follow in Obama&#8217;s footsteps. There&#8217;s been just too much funny business on both sides of the aisle. She&#8217;s made a lot of dough out of being a politician. I gave up dough to be a politician. I&#8217;m sure that Ronald Reagan gave up dough to be a politician.&#8221;
But Eastwood has also praised Trump&#8217;s more macho way. In 2017, during a conversation moderated by Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan, Eastwood mocked the politically correct world of today.
“[Trump’s] onto something, because secretly, everybody’s getting tired of political correctness, kissing up,” he said.”We’re really in a pussy generation. Everybody’s walking on eggshells,” he said. “We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren’t called racist.”
And he said he probably couldn&#8217;t make &#8220;Dirty Harry&#8221; today.
“A lot of people thought it was politically incorrect,” Eastwood said. “That was at the beginning of the era that we’re in now, where everybody thinks everyone’s politically correct. We’re killing ourselves by doing that. We’ve lost our sense of humor.”

CinemaCon 2015 – CinemaCon And Warner Bros. Pictures Present “The Legend Of Cinema Luncheon: A Salute To Clint Eastwood”

Clint Eastwood Offers Surprising Support For This 2020 Candidate

2020 Election

Donald Trump

Michael Bloomberg

How can you properly vindicate and honor a man who risked his life to save others, only to be utterly destroyed by the powerful forces of the FBI and the media for doing so?
I&#8217;m not sure you ever really can, especially 20 years after the fact. But Clint Eastwood&#8217;s latest masterpiece, &#8220;Richard Jewell,&#8221; comes as close as one can get.
Richard Jewell was working security at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta when he spotted a suspicious package. Jewell&#8217;s vigilance and dedication to his job allowed him and others to evacuate the area, potentially saving an estimated 100 lives.
Jewell was hero.
Or at least he should have been.
The Eastwood-directed film dissects the smearing of Jewell, which started just three days after the 33-year-old helped to minimize the impact of the attack.
From the deceptive and, frankly, unbelievable actions by the FBI — an agency Jewell revered — to the reputation-destroying mistakes printed and echoed by an overzealous media unaware of their own biases, &#8220;Richard Jewell&#8221; gives the audience an  emotionally taxing peek inside the lives of such victims.
&#8220;I, Tonya&#8221; actor Paul Walter Hauser is stunning as Jewell; or, simply, he is Jewell. While the content of the film is serious, &#8220;Richard Jewell&#8221; is so heavy and challenging for the viewer largely due to Hauser&#8217;s performance. Understanding Jewell as an imperfect hero, Hauser makes you feel every ounce of injustice, every infliction of pain against the earnest, goodhearted soul that was Jewell. You want to reach through the screen and comfort the character; it&#8217;s almost agonizing.
And it&#8217;s not just Hauser with the impeccable acting. Every character is perfectly cast. Sam Rockwell as Jewell-friend and lawyer Watson Bryant couldn&#8217;t be a more charismatic bulldog. Kathy Bates nearly steals the film with her heartbreaking portrayal of Jewell&#8217;s mother Bobi during the now-famous press conference defending her baby boy. Jon Hamm, as an aggressive FBI agent, will make you loathe him. Olivia Wilde brings the right amount of complexity in her portrayal as reporter Kathy Scruggs.
Of course, the parallels to today&#8217;s political climate are unavoidable (see: Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Covington Catholic high schoolers, President Donald Trump), and likely the real reason folks in the media have delivered an all-out assault on the film. However, their obvious deflection doesn&#8217;t detract from the message of &#8220;Richard Jewell.&#8221;
&#8220;Hollywood takes artistic liberties,&#8221; Hauser responded to the controversy during a Friday interview with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/telling-richard-jewell-story-hero-turned-suspects-88-67703614">ABC News</a>. &#8220;While I appreciate their opinions, if they think it&#8217;s going to extinguish what we&#8217;re trying to do with the Jewell family, they would be incorrect.&#8221;
Perhaps the greatest endorsement of the film is the reaction from Bobi Jewell, who told ABC she believed her only son was &#8220;killed&#8221; by the FBI and media maligning him. &#8220;He was worn, torn, and tattered,&#8221; the hero&#8217;s mother said, adding that her boy &#8220;died of a broken heart.&#8221; (Jewell died at the young age of 44.)
However, though painful, the film has offered her boy vindication, Bobi Jewell said, noting that it was 20 years too late.
&#8220;Richard Jewell&#8221; is a must-see, compelling inside look at the victims created by authorities abusing their power and neglecting their responsibilities. Come for the acting, stay for the timely message.

A Devastating Look At Victims Of ‘Fake News,’ ‘Richard Jewell’ Is The Must-See Film Of The Year

Media Bias

I’ve always considered journalism to be a noble profession. A career spent digging through false leads and trivia in order to get to the truth of a story must be pretty harrowing at times. In some countries, this actually puts journalists in mortal danger. But, in the end, it’s worth it, because they’re helping to get the word out about important stories. Indeed, it is a noble and vital profession.
This is not to suggest, however, that those who would go into this profession are inherently noble. Like anybody else, journalists often fall prey to the temptations of laziness, bias, and sometimes outright lies. These particular journalists are the reason that the mainstream media has become less and less trustworthy through the decades, as old-fashioned reporting has taken a backseat to political activism and narrative-pushing in the guise of journalistic respectability.
With Clint Eastwood’s new film Richard Jewell, the iconic director dramatizes an historical instance in which the media — for reasons of convenience and sensationalism — got the story horrendously wrong. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, a security guard named Richard Jewell found a bomb planted at Centennial Park and quickly alerted the authorities and helped save hundreds of lives. He was hailed as a hero, but was quickly targeted — first by the FBI and subsequently by the media itself — as the prime suspect. The single, overweight Jewell lived with his mother and was quickly labeled a loser; a wannabe cop who was looking for an opportunity to be a hero. Jewell fit a specific type, and the media ran with the story. The problem, of course, was that the story wasn’t true, and Jewell actually was the hero he was initially made out to be.
Eastwood’s decision to put out a movie about this egregious example of an overeager media has been met with resistance from people who see the film as a piece of propaganda for the Trump administration, which regularly calls out the media as “fake news.” And while the timing of the release may well be politically motivated (what movie isn’t these days?), the film is simply the latest in a long line of movies that are willing to grapple with the potential dishonesty and sensationalism of the media.
For those who might be ideologically sympathetic to Eastwood’s goals with the film, here is a list of previously released films that took the press to task.
Shattered Glass (2003) — Written and directed by Billy Ray, the screenwriter of Richard Jewell, this film tells the story of Stephen Glass, the entertaining wunderkind of The New Republic whose popular human interest stories were soon revealed to be completely fabricated. As the newly minted editor at The New Republic conducts an internal investigation, the film explores not only why Glass would so brazenly lie to his bosses, co-workers, and the public at large, but also the environment in which he could get away with it for so long. Featuring solid performances from Hayden Christiansen and Peter Sarsgard, this film tells another true story of media sensationalism winning out over journalistic integrity.
Network (1976) — Conceived by the endearingly acidic Paddy Chayefsky, this over-the-top satire tells the story of an anchorman slowly losing his mind and the executives and producers who see ratings potential in his meltdown. As the executives justify their actions by claiming to be “tapping into the popular rage” of a post-Watergate culture, Network predicted much of the modern hysteria that we find whenever we turn on the news, from the cynical executives to the self-righteous talent to the viewers that allow themselves to be so thoroughly manipulated. A cautionary tale that proved to be unnervingly prescient.
Absence of Malice (1981) — Directed with the straightforward tone that would become his hallmark, Sydney Pollack tells the story of a legitimate businessman whose life is put through the ringer when an overeager Miami reporter writes a story implicating the businessman in the murder of a union official. The investigation that follows is a labyrinthine exercise in corruption, extortion, and politics, all couched in a surprisingly poignant debate about the First Amendment. The film suggests that the media — sometimes knowing, sometimes not — can be used as an effective weapon by those in power, requiring caution by those journalists and editors whose pursuit of a good story can blind them to their own exploitation.
Ace in the Hole (1951) — Having made one of the quintessential Hollywood takedowns the year before, director Billy Wilder decided to turn his sights on the world of journalism, represented here by a smug, smirking Kirk Douglas. A down-on-his-luck reporter sees the opportunity to get back on top when a small town resident is trapped in a nearby cave. The reporter manipulates the local authorities into drawing out the rescue operation while simultaneously getting close to the trapped man, effectively giving himself exclusive access to the unfolding story. Like Network, Ace in the Hole foretold later developments in the media, whose 24-hour news cycle operates best when propped up by an ongoing story, and suggested that some journalists are more comfortable making the news than simply reporting it.
Inherit the Wind (1960) — It may seem counterintuitive — especially to more religious readers — to recommend Stanley Kramer’s fictionalized retelling of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, but it is a well-written, brilliantly acted film, starring Spencer Tracy and the always-reliable Fredric March. Despite those heavy-hitters, it is the Gene Kelly role of haughty reporter E.K. Hornbeck that really stands out to me. While the film is none too kind to the creationism-supporting Matthew Harrison Brady (March), its real scorn is reserved for Hornbeck, who demonstrates a flagrant bias in reporting the story. The readiness with which Hornbeck editorializes and shows real contempt for more traditional-minded Americans slowly alienates everybody in the film, including those that would seemingly be on his side. The image of “journalist as self-important, narcissistic, would-be kingmaker” is one of the more damning portraits of the media in film.
Of course, there are plenty of examples of films that would seek to canonize journalists — rightly in films like All the President’s Men and wrongly in the Dan Rather apologia Truth — but there is something extremely satisfying about a movie that is willing to take a hard look at the potential pitfalls of journalism. And in the current climate — with a media that is so averse to introspection — it can also be pretty refreshing.
&nbsp;

Clint Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewell’ Under Fire For Calling Out The Press; Here Are Some Other Films That Did The Same

On Monday, President Donald Trump shared a poignant clip of maligned hero Richard Jewell testifying before Congress in 1997 and demanding the FBI issue him a formal apology for falsely fingering him as a suspect in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games bombing.
The president approvingly quote-tweeted a post from the Twitter user &#8220;Steph,&#8221; who argued that Richard Jewell&#8217;s treatment at the hands of the FBI and the fake news media parallels President Trump&#8217;s own treatment. Steph denounced both organizations as &#8220;tyrants&#8221; and &#8220;criminal organizations.&#8221;
&#8220;This is Richard Jewell. Listen to him. President Trump could read the same statement,&#8221; said Steph. &#8220;The FBI &amp; their media partners are criminal organizations under the guise of &#8216;keeping us safe&#8217; They are tyrants and it isn’t new.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Wow! <a href="https://t.co/gYGUEKpGac">https://t.co/gYGUEKpGac</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1206590608586027013?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the two-minute clip, a noticeably shaken and timid Richard Jewell denounces his treatment at the hands of both the media and the FBI, taking specific aim at the government institution for actively seeking to ruin his life in spite of the truth. Here&#8217;s the full transcript:
<blockquote> I come before you today, not as a Republican or a Democrat. I have no political agenda. I come before you simply as an American citizen with rights just like everybody else. One year ago today, the FBI and the media joined together to launch an attack on me of unparalleled proportions in the history of this nation. An attack calculated to portray me to the world as some kind of abnormal person, with a bizarre employment history who was guilty of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. It was all a lie.
Two days ago, the Justice Department issued a written report about its investigation into a few of the unlawful acts committed by the FBI in its investigation of me. While I have not had an opportunity to study the report in detail,  I did read a redacted summary yesterday. I submit to you that the Justice Department cannot be trusted to investigate itself because that report is also a lie. It is filled with false statements, half-truths, and gross distortions of the truth. Reading it reminded me of reading the FBI search warrant affidavit against me. Apparently, truth for the Justice Department is simply whatever the Justice Department wants the truth to me. Within a few days, after my name was leaked to the media, the FBI knew it had a public relations disaster on its hands. The organization that prided itself on being the best investigative agency in the world had quickly, and with the word watching, pointed the federal government&#8217;s finger of guilt at the wrong man and they knew it within days. Not only did the FBI accuse the wrong man — its agents in Atlanta, and officials in Washington, actively participated in publicly humiliating me.</blockquote>
Richard Jewell became a national hero during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, when he discovered a bomb planted in Centennial Park. Risking his own life, Jewell successfully helped to evacuate the area, saving countless lives before the bomb detonated. As a result of his heroic feats, only one person died in the blast (a second person later died of a heart attack) while 111 people were injured.
Though first hailed for his triumphant efforts, things quickly turned sour for Jewell the moment the media learned that the FBI was investigating him as a potential suspect, believing he may have planted the bomb himself in order to gain notoriety.
Director Clint Eastwood&#8217;s movie chronicling Richard Jewell&#8217;s harrowing fight went nationwide last Friday.

Richard Jewell (C) his mother Barbara (L) and att

WATCH: Trump Shares Richard Jewell Testimony Denouncing FBI, Fake News Media: ‘Criminal Organizations,’ ‘Tyrants’

Olympics

Richard Jewell

Twitter

The &#8220;get woke, go broke&#8221; axiom may yet to be disproven, but that doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean movies with inarguable conservative leanings (not to mention a conservative director) will automatically score a winning goal. Witness exhibit A: Clint Eastwood&#8217;s &#8220;Richard Jewell&#8221; performed disastrously this weekend despite reliably positive mainstream reviews and some heavy championing in conservative media circles.
According to <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/box-office/box-office-clint-eastwood-suffers-worst-opening-in-four-decades-with-richard-jewell-1203438272/">Variety</a>, &#8220;Richard Jewell&#8221; marked the worst opening for a Clint Eastwood movie in four decades, pulling in a dismal $5 million from 2,502 theaters.
&#8220;It’s a disappointing result for Eastwood, marking one of the worst nationwide openings of the 89-year-old’s directorial career,&#8221; the <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/box-office/box-office-clint-eastwood-suffers-worst-opening-in-four-decades-with-richard-jewell-1203438272/">outlet reported</a>. &#8220;His only movie to endure a worse fate was 1980’s &#8216;Billy Bronco&#8217; with $3.7 million. Should &#8216;<a id="related_article_link_richard-jewell" href="https://variety.com/2019/film/box-office/box-office-jumanji-opening-weekend-richard-jewell-flops-1203438161/" data-tag="richard-jewell">Richard Jewell&#8217;</a> come in ahead of expectations by even $200,000, that would propel it just barely above 1997’s &#8216;Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil&#8217; ($5.2 million) and 1999’s &#8216;True Crime&#8217; ($5.2 million) in terms of Eastwood’s inaugural outings.&#8221;
Worse still, the movie is expected to lose tens of millions of dollars in North America due to its $45 million production budget. Predictions cap the film&#8217;s box office earnings somewhere in the $25 &#8211; $45 million range.
Richard Jewell became a national hero during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, when he discovered a bomb planted in Centennial Park. Risking his own life, Jewell successfully helped to evacuate the area, saving countless lives before the bomb detonated. As a result of his heroic feats, only one person died in the blast (a second person later died of a heart attack) while 111 people were injured.
Though first hailed for his triumphant efforts, things quickly turned sour for Jewell the moment the media learned that the FBI was investigating him as a potential suspect, believing he may have planted the bomb himself in order to gain notoriety. Leading up to its release, the film faced heavy scrutiny for portraying journalist Kathy Scruggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a salacious reporter willing to trade sex for news stories. Neither Warner Bros. nor Eastwood nor screenwriter Billy Ray presented evidence to support that portrayal.
Writing at <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2019/12/14/friday-box-office-richard-jewell-clint-eastwood-black-christmas-adam-sandler-charlize-theron-margot-robbie-bombshell-uncut-gems/#69394a478907">Forbes</a>, Scott Mendelson argued that the controversy over Scruggs (who died in 2001 and could not publicly defend herself) may not have exactly hampered the film&#8217;s box office chances.
&#8220;It has damaged the otherwise pretty good movie’s standing in terms of how it’s discussed in the media. Granted, it probably didn’t impact the box office, and its biggest shot at Oscar glory remains a Best Actor nod for Hauser,&#8221; wrote Mendelson.
Screenwriter Billy Ray has since accused the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) of capitalizing off the one moment in which Scruggs flirts with an FBI agent in order stifle the conversation.
&#8220;This movie is about a hero whose life was completely destroyed by myths created by the FBI and the media, specifically the AJC,” Ray <a href="https://deadline.com/2019/12/richard-jewell-movie-controversy-reporter-kathy-scruggs-clint-eastwood-billy-ray-atlanta-journal-constitution-1202806453/?fbclid=IwAR1F3qnC58WALs1L-GVJZqTYq91HEk6l0EVPkEOEhwsxugqfJAScx6ZfZGw">told Deadline</a>. “The AJC hung Richard Jewell, in public.”
&#8220;They editorialized wildly and printed assumptions as facts,” Ray said. “They compared him to noted mass murderer Wayne Williams. And this was after he had saved hundreds of lives. Now a movie comes along 23 years later, a perfect chance for the AJC to atone for what they did to Richard and to admit to their misdeeds. And what do they decide to do? They launch a distraction campaign. They deflect and distort. They focus solely on one single minute in a movie that’s 129 minutes long, opting to challenge one assertion in the movie rather than accepting their own role in destroying the life of a good man.&#8221;

“Richard Jewell” Atlanta Screening

Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewell’ Flops Amid Controversy

Box Office

Clint Eastwood’s new movie “Richard Jewell” tells the true story of a heroic security guard wrongly accused of a 1996 bombing by the FBI and wrongly convicted by an out-of-control news media.
When left-wing critics previewed the movie, they were appalled.
“‘Richard Jewell’ is the Movie America Doesn’t Need Right Now,” was the headline on the review by Will Bunch in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bunch wrote: “At some point during those two hours in the dark – maybe the attack on the FBI as a rogue outfit using trickery to frame innocent people, or the depiction of journalists as amoral enemies of the people, or the swelling agitprop of applause lines about common folks under attack ‘from our two most powerful forces – the United States government and the media’ – that I’d began to wonder if I’d made a wrong turn. Was I really in a Philadelphia multiplex, or had I wound up at President Trump’s lie-larded Hershey rally taking place at exactly the same time?”
Likewise, left-wing outlet The Daily Beast said Eastwood’s movie “channels Trump talking points.” 

But here’s my question. Since Trump is never mentioned in the movie, and since the movie only dramatizes a completely true story, what made these critics think of Donald Trump when they saw a man being unfairly abused by the FBI and the press? What on earth, pray tell, brought President the Donald into their squeaky clean minds?
Of course, we know the answer. As much as they deny it, distort it, and lie about it, the Department of Justice Inspector General report on the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s non-existent collusion with Russia absolutely destroys the work and credibility of Obama’s FBI leadership and the news media that reported on it. It’s the “Richard Jewell” story on steroids, and if the press didn’t know it, they wouldn’t protest so much.
Despite what virtually every left-wing commentator has said, the IG report is not a “Rorschach Test” that can be read two ways. It crucifies James Comey’s FBI – and not like Jesus was crucified, but like the thieves beside him who were “condemned justly.” The feds lied. They cheated. They wrongly spied on Americans. They wrongly spied on an opposition presidential campaign. And while IG Michael Horowitz makes plain it wasn’t his job to question their motives in doing so – and while he allows they had the “quantum” of justification required to open the investigation – he specifically comments on the low standards of that requirement, and then goes on to outline behavior so bad, he himself won’t try to explain the reasons behind it.
And in showing the FBI misused its mighty power, the report also underscores the dreadful, immoral, and dishonest behavior of the news media. The two and a half years of breathless Russia collusion reporting based on anonymous leaks from spies trying to cover their butts was, like the reporting on Richard Jewell, an unforgiveable disservice to the American people. No wonder “journalists” don’t want to see Eastwood’s movie. They are so steeped in ideological corruption, they can’t stand the sight of themselves.
Put Donald Trump aside for a moment, if that’s possible. Consider only this. George Stephanopoulos worked for Bill Clinton during the 1992 election. Part of his job was silencing and discrediting women who accused Clinton of rape and sexual abuse. You can see him in action in the documentary “War Room.” Stephanopoulos is now the chief newsman at ABC News. A whistleblower recently released video showing that ABC News spiked the story about Clinton friend and child rapist Jeffrey Epstein during Hillary Clinton’s campaign. When the video went public through Project Veritas, ABC started a hunt – not for the evildoer who spiked the story – but for the whistleblower! CBS helped ABC by firing a woman they wrongly thought guilty. And, of course, over at NBC, they did everything they could to kill the investigation into Clinton supporter and accused rapist Harvey Weinstein.
Our journalists cover up for probable rapists in order to protect powerful Democrats. Let me repeat that: our mainstream journalists cover up for probable rapists in order to protect powerful Democrats – and then they cover up the cover up.
That’s who they are. That’s what they do.
If I were they, I couldn’t look in the mirror either.

Trump with press.

Our Journalists Are Not As Bad As In ‘Richard Jewell’ – They’re Much Worse

Journalism

Media

Fox News host Jesse Watters of &#8220;The Five&#8221; has come under fire from feminists after he suggested that some women journalists will trade sex for news stories in response to the backlash against Clint Eastwood&#8217;s &#8220;Richard Jewell.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-jesse-watters-criticized-richard-jewell-remarks-1262241">The Hollywood Reporter</a> (THR), the controversy erupted on Wednesday when Watters said that women journalists sleep with sources &#8220;all the time.&#8221; His comments were in reference to the outrage directed at &#8220;Richard Jewell&#8221; for portraying Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reporter Kathy Scruggs as a callous schemer trading sex with an FBI agent for a scoop, which AJC has condemned as &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clint-eastwood-breaks-silence-on-richard-jewell-accusations">false and malicious</a>.&#8221; Both Warner Bros. and Clint Eastwood have stood by the film&#8217;s artistic license.
&#8220;It happens, a lot. Ali Watkins was a reporter for many, many years, at many distinguished publications,&#8221; said Watters. &#8220;She slept with one of her sources, allegedly, for four years and broke a lot of scoops, according to this Politico report here. So, it happens a lot, and it happens a lot in movies and TV shows.&#8221;
When co-host Juan Williams challenged that assertion, Watters quickly added that he did not mean &#8220;most women reporters.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t say most women reporters,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Male reporters could do it, too. I&#8217;m just saying it happens. I&#8217;m saying it&#8217;s happened many times in the past.&#8221;
In response to Watters&#8217; comments, groups representing female journalists have been denouncing his statements as sexist. Elisa Lees Munoz, executive director of the International Women&#8217;s Media Foundation, told THR that his comments were &#8220;totally beyond the pale.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s such a trope, it&#8217;s so tired, and why is it coming out now?&#8221; said Munoz. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s any different than any other way that professional women are maligned in any profession, which is that a women can&#8217;t possibly do her job well if she&#8217;s not also using her body to get ahead.&#8221;
&#8220;I think it has to do with being fed up with journalists being portrayed as anything other than as professional and it has to do with the #MeToo movement and female journalists pushing back on these portrayals,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;In general, there&#8217;s much more awareness of how detrimental these kind of comments are and really an attempt to educate individuals.&#8221;
Carolyn McGourty Supple, co-founder of Press Forward, said that Watters promoted a harmful stereotype. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s an incredibly harmful stereotype and it was irresponsible to say on air,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It sounded anecdotal and not based in reality. Saying stuff like that has very harmful effects. In reality, women journalists are more likely to be sexually harassed by their sources and face verbal abuse and threats online. This is what drives female journalists around the world to leave the field when they are already underrepresented in the press.&#8221;
Tema L. Staig, executive director of the group Women in Media, called Watters a &#8220;gaslighting gasbag&#8221; while Julie Roginsky, a Democratic strategist who sued Fox News for  sexual harassment in 2017 after serving as a contributor, denounced the comments as being &#8220;absolutely disgraceful.&#8221;
&#8220;This statement is absolutely disgraceful,&#8221; said Roginsky. &#8220;Of course, in his mind, female journalists must resort to feminine wiles to get the scoop, because it can&#8217;t be possible that women can actually break stories because of their tenacity and brain power. There is a profound cultural shift that is happening in the United States today, where women won&#8217;t stand for that kind of rhetoric any longer. I&#8217;m only sorry that this movement seems to have escaped the notice of some people at 1211 Avenue of the Americas.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newspaper-demands-eastwoods-richard-jewell-issue-a-disclaimer">Newspaper Demands Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewell’ Issue A Disclaimer</a>

Jenna Bush Hager And Barbara Bush Visit “The Five”

Female Groups Blast Jesse Watters For Saying Some Women Journalists Sleep With Sources In Response To ‘Richard Jewell’ Controversy

Jesse Watters

Sexism

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