In a recent appearance on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime , Sopranos star Drea de Matteo ignited a conversation about the presence of ‘quiet’ Donald Trump supporters in Hollywood. Popular for her iconic role as Adriana La Cerva on the critically acclaimed series, de Matteo revealed the political climate in Hollywood and the challenges faced by conservative voices. During the interview, Watters played clips from a recent Hollywood fundraiser for President Joe Biden , which raised $30 million and featured celebrities like Jack Black and Jimmy Kimmel . The segment also included footage of actor Robert De Niro criticizing Trump outside a Manhattan courtroom.
Drea De Matteo pic.twitter.com/5OdPWnDpzU
— Illinois girl Desi (@d_ewinger) June 25, 2024
As per Mediaite , Watter questioned, “Is there a quiet Trump voter out there in Hollywood?” In response, de Matteo said, “Hello there, first of all. And I think there is a lot of them. I think there are a lot of — that was a hard intro to watch. I’m sorry…No, it’s the Italian, man. We’re talking about [Anthony] Fauci, we’re talking about De Niro. I am mortified right now by my people. I don’t understand what we’re doing here.” She suggested that there are several Trump supporters and even backers of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. within the industry. She remarked, “There are a lot of quiet Trump supporters, there are a lot of Kennedy supporters. And wow, I wonder how much the actors got paid to endorse Biden at this point. I’m curious because that seems — I wonder if De Niro got paid a locations fee because he had to travel to the courtroom to do that,” she said.
Reflecting on her own career, de Matteo noted that she and her Sopranos co-stars were often considered outsiders despite the show’s popularity. She exclaimed, “I don’t really maneuver inside that industry. I never have. First of all, in Sopranos, we were the outcasts, even though we were critically acclaimed, we still were outcasts. So I’m still an outcast, here I am. They’re going to take me out into the woods and shoot me for not endorsing Biden,” as reported by Variety . Moreover, a while ago, she echoed a similar tone and said, “I do know that people are tired of it, and there are very few people that are willing to speak out. They probably will vote Republican , and that’s people who would never normally, but people are afraid. This doesn’t feel like a democracy anymore.”
De Matteo’s outspoken nature has led to significant career changes. She revealed that her opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates resulted in a loss of acting gigs, prompting her to pivot to creating content on OnlyFans. She said she was forced to “switch careers and figure new things out because my own industry thinks I’m a savage. I guess you could say I was a bad girl because I did not follow the rules a couple of years ago.”