Hollywood filmmakers and actors have not shied away from making political statements. Recently, at the 98th Academy Awards, Javier Bardem’s “free Palestine” declaration while presenting an award grabbed headlines. However, actor Josh Duhamel believes that such highly charged political statements could end up backfiring on artists.
Duhamel doesn’t want to “preach” to the audience
On a recent episode of Megyn Kelly’s podcast, Josh Duhamel questioned the mindset of artists in the industry who make politically divisive statements, as he feels it alienates a section of the audience. From a purely business perspective, he finds no justification for artists to engage in political commentary.
“If you really want to be successful in this business, why would you make half of your audience despise you by your beliefs,” he told Kelly, adding, “Maybe they don’t care. I don’t know. I mean, I look at it as a business decision, you know?”
He further stated that he, too, has “strong opinions” on certain hot-button political issues, but he would never air them out on public platforms. Duhamel further remarked that he gives due respect to the opinions of people who disagree with him and would never like to preach to them. “I have real strong opinions about things but I don’t really talk about it because it’s like, ‘Why would I alienate half my audience?’ Because I respect their views on things, but I’m not going to preach to them.”
The actor said that he is in the business solely to create “cool stuff” and be the “court jester” and implied that if artists believed strongly about certain political issues, they should run for office.
“I’m here just to make cool movies, cool TV. I’m here to make cool stuff. I’m the court jester, you know? If I want to preach to you about what I believe politically, I will go run for office, which I’m not [going to do],” he said. His comments come during a time when political expression in the entertainment industry continues to be a talking point, with actors often sharing their views on various issues.
Do you agree with Josh Duhamel’s statements? Or do you think that artists should use their privilege and talk about political issues that are highly divisive in nature? Let us know in the comments section below.
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