Josh Duhamel appeared on a recent episode of Megyn Kelly‘s podcast (via Entertainment Weekly) and shared his opinion that actors should stay silent on politics.
“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,” Duhamel said. “They can believe what they want to believe. I’m just here to, you know, make cool stuff.”
When Kelly noted there is a “growing trend” of Hollywood celebrities deciding not to speak out on political issues, the “Ransom Canyon” actor said “it makes perfect sense” because personal views need to be kept out of work.
“If you really want to be successful in this business, why would you make half of your audience despise you by your beliefs? Maybe they don’t care. I don’t know,” Duhamel said. “I mean, I look at it as a business decision, you know? 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].”
Jennifer Lawrence made headlines last fall for saying she’s no longer sure if she should speak out against politics during press tours. The Oscar winner was outspoken against Donald Trump during his first administration as U.S. president, notably writing an op-ed after Election Day in which she declared that Trump’s victory meant “the only people that feel safe [in America], that their rights are recognized and respected, are white men.” But when asked last November on “The Interview” podcast about her thoughts on speaking out now regarding Trump and politics, Lawrence answered: “I don’t really know if I should.”
“The first Trump administration was so wild and just how can we let this stand? I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off,” Lawrence added. “But as we’ve learned, election after election, celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for. So then what am I doing? I’m just sharing my opinion on something that’s going to add fuel to a fire that’s ripping the country apart. We are so divided.”
“I think I’m in a complicated recalibration because I’m also an artist. With this temperature and the way things can turn out, I don’t want to start turning people off to films and to art that could change consciousness or change the world because they don’t like my political opinions. I want to protect my craft so that you can still get lost in what I’m doing… You watch these actors’ faces who have had incredible careers and made incredible contributions and then one half of the internet doesn’t want to see their face anymore. I get so upset for those people and it feels so wrong.”
One person who would agree with Lawrence that “celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever” in U.S. elections is HBO’s “Real Time” host Bill Maher, who bluntly told the California Post in January that Hollywood celebrities need to “shut the fuck up” when it comes to politics if the Democratic party wants to have even a shot at reclaiming the White House in future elections.
“Hollywood [is] sort of the epicenter of the woke left. I don’t think they’re doing the Democratic Party any favors,” Maher said. “I think if Democrats want to win elections in the future, job one, tell the celebrities to ‘Just shut the fuck up. You’re not helping. You don’t strike people in most of the country as sensible or in touch with reality.’”
Watch Duhamel’s interview on Kelly’s podcast in the video below.