Kevin Sorbo, the star of the Christian-oriented film God’s Not Dead , is pushing back against employment retaliation for those who don’t automatically toe the politically liberal line in Hollywood.
God’s Not Dead surprisingly broke into the top ten of the North American box office this weekend, earning in the range of $8.6 to 8.9 million , which was good enough for either fourth or fifth place , depending on which sources you consult.
Much has already been written about the reverse McCarthyism or a reverse blacklist in show business, i.e., how publicly differing even slightly with the Democrat Party agenda in overwhelmingly liberal Hollywood and elsewhere is a career-killer for those who lean conservative or libertarian in the entertainment industry — both in front and behind the camera/stage.
Perhaps best known as TV’s Hercules , Sorbo portrays an atheist professor in the new film, which is the opposite of his belief system in real life. In an interview , Sorbo acknowledged that some of his views boomeranged against him in the entertainment community in terms of getting gigs.
Said Sorbo:
Oh, sure. I mean I’m an independent in Hollywood. I’ve voted Democratic in my live, I’ve voted Republican in my life. I’m one of the few people I think in Hollywood who actually comes out and says ‘Hey, you know what, I vote for who I think is the best person, period.’ I’m not a party guy. There are people on both sides of the political fence that I don’t agree with. To me, I look to see who I honestly think is going to be the best person. So, that, in itself, is enough to get me blacklisted in Hollywood …They scream for tolerance, They scream for freedom of speech but it you disagree at all with what they’re saying then they can blacklist you. They have the power to do that.”
Continued Sorbo about Hollywood hypocrisy and political correctness when it comes to the industry’s lack of tolerance for different views:
I mean Hollywood doesn’t owe me anything. I get it. I understand that but, on the same side, it’s like ‘Okay, why can’t I have an opinion? Why does that cost me jobs?’ I mean there’s so much anger…in Hollywood. It’s weird. Their arguments aren’t logical. They aren’t based on fact. If you hit people up with facts, they just say you’re wrong and they don’t give reasons why you’re wrong. Their whole idea is that they say they care so much more. What do you mean you care so much more? Here’s the reality. Here are the statistics that will back me up with the things I’m saying. They don’t want to hear that. They don’t want to see it. They don’t care. They just have an anger.”
As The Inquisitr has previously reported, actress Maria Conchita Alonso lost a part in The Vagina Monologues merely for cutting a (quirky) commercial for Tea Party candidate for California governor Tim Donnelly.
Do you think it’s time for Hollywood to start celebrating diversity and therefore stop denying jobs based on a person’s faith-based views or political leanings, if any?
[Image credit: Featureflash / Shutterstock.com ]