Gabriel Basso, the actor who played JD Vance in the Oscar-nominated film "Hillbilly Elegy," believes that actors should refrain from expressing their political opinions publicly.
In a recent episode of the "Great Company" podcast, Basso argued that actors' work does not give them the authority to share their political views with the public. He compared actors to "court jesters" whose job is to entertain, not to influence political discourse.
Basso's comments stand in contrast to those of his "Hillbilly Elegy" director, Ron Howard, who previously expressed concern about the campaign that ultimately made Vance the vice president of the United States.
Basso also acknowledged that his fate will likely be intertwined with Vance's to some degree for the rest of his career. Vance wrote the bestselling memoir that was adapted into the 2020 Netflix movie, and Basso played a younger version of Vance in the film.
Despite Vance's controversial political views, Basso said he found him to be "a cool dude" after spending time with him during the filming of "Hillbilly Elegy."
Basso's apolitical stance is not shared by all of his industry colleagues. Many actors, including Russell Brand, Jim Caviezel, and Mel Gibson, endorsed Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Others, such as Robert De Niro and Matt Damon, endorsed Joe Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris.
8 Comments
KittyKat
🙅♂️ If Vance and his ilk get to spread misinformation unchecked, democracy is doomed. We need everyone, including actors, to speak up against it!
BuggaBoom
💯 Actors have free speech just like everyone else, but that doesn't mean they can't choose not to exercise that right in every situation.
Noir Black
👍 I agree with Basso. Actors are entertainers, not politicians. Let them do what they do best and leave politics to the experts.
Loubianka
🤔 Maybe if more actors followed Basso's example and focused on entertaining us instead of lecturing us, their work wouldn't be so polarizing.
Marishka
🙌 Maybe we need more people like Basso who are willing to bridge the political divide and focus on what we have in common.
Rotfront
🤬 Actors are people, and people have political views. Saying they can't share them with the public is silencing their voices!
Michelangelo
🙏 Celebrities have influence, but they also have families and lives outside of their public persona. Maybe Basso just wants to keep his private life separate from his work.
Leonardo
❌ Can you believe this guy? Actors are just entertainers, they should stick to acting and leave the real world politics to actual politicians! 😠