The transformation of Alyssa Milano: How a loveable witch became a divisive political figure
Alyssa Milano has made quite a reputation for herself in the past two or so years. The 'Little Italy' star who many now refer to as the 'celebrity who is famous now for having once been famous', has established herself as staunchly anti-Trump. Unlike most celebrities that use their social media to endorse various beauty, healthcare and other related products, Milano infamously uses hers as a platform for political debate. But that doesn't essentially mean that she has garnered a huge fan-following with her political standing.
The actress-turned activist's views haven't exactly won hearts, especially now, at a time where most political positions are filled by celebrities and celebrities are starting to turn towards a political career. In recent events, she has been slammed for endorsing Biden's run for Presidency in the wake of sexual-misconduct allegations against him, especially because she is among those that advocated the #MeToo movement after the Weinstein allegations emerged.
In an interview on April 6 reported by National Review, the 'Commando' alum backed her decision for endorsing Biden, despite the allegations against him. “For so long, the go-to has been not to believe them," she began. “We really have to sort of societally change that mindset to believing women. But that does not mean at the expense of giving men their due process and investigating situations, and it’s got to be fair in both directions."
“I did my work and I spoke to [anti–sexual harassment group] Time’s Up, and I just don’t feel comfortable throwing away a decent man that I’ve known for 15 years in this time of complete chaos without there being a thorough investigation," she added.
When the accusations against Biden emerged, Milano took to Twitter to express her opinion, “I respect Lucy Flores’ decision to share her story and agree with Biden that we all must pay attention to it. But just as we must believe women that decide to come forward, we cannot assume all women’s experiences are the same.”
Her inclination to support Biden amid these accusations only displays a sense of hypocrisy with which she applies her principles, ie when she finds it politically convenient. However, this isn't the first time Milano has been slammed for her political takes. She tends to attract a lot of attention to herself, mostly negative, through the various opinions that she disseminates through her social platforms.
January 2019: MAGA hat is the new white hood
The 'Charmed' actress faced backlash for comparing the red 'Make America Great Again' hats worn by Trump supporters to the white hoods worn by the members of the Ku Klux Klan. "The red MAGA hat is the new white hood," she said in a tweet sparking rage among users on the platform. "Without white boys being able to empathize with other people, humanity will continue to destroy itself. #FirstThoughtsWhenIWakeUp."
Her tweet was based on the news of an encounter between a group of Catholic high school students, and a Native American elder, on the stairs to the Lincoln Memorial. The students were wearing MAGA hats. But a video detailing hat actually lead up this clash surfaced later on and showed the students getting attacked by a different group of demonstrators. Milano was asked to apologize and back down. However, she followed that with another tweet the next day. "Let's not forget-this entire event happened because a group of boys went on a school-sanctioned trip to protest against a woman's right to her own body and reproductive healthcare. It is not debatable that bigotry was at play from the start," she said.
April 2019: Pledge to not speak negatively of 2020 Democratic candidates
Milano was slammed for asking her followers to avoid criticizing any of the Democratic candidates running for Presidency in 2020. She retweeted and captioned a tweet from actor, George Takei, where he said, "Will you join me in pledging not to speak negatively about any of our candidates? We don’t know who the nominee will be, but they need to be as strong as they can be going into the election against Trump."
Her addition to the tweet was "#IPledge to not speak negatively about anyone running for President. Do you?" Her followers, though, didn't respond in like. Many refuted her request after she had made her support for Biden clear, following sexual allegation claims made against him by Anita Hill.
She also claimed that her comment was spurred by Bernie Sanders' supporters attacking her in her comments after she announced that Biden would appear in her podcast 'Sorry not Sorry'. But one look at the comments indicated that some Sanders supporters only expressed their disappointment of her support for Biden.
May 2019: Sex strike against abortion ban
The 'Melrose Place' star struck a chord with the Twitterverse again. Milano's call for women to join her in a sex strike to protest against the abortion ban passed by Republican legislatures sparked ridicule. George had become the fourth state in the US to ban abortions after the fetus heartbeat is detected, six weeks after the last recorded menstrual cycle.
Through a tweet that she posted on her handle, she urged women to not have sex "until we get our bodily autonomy back." She spoke to the Associated Press about the same saying, "We need to understand how dire the situation is across the country. It's reminding people that we have control over our own bodies and how we use them." Her basis for the calling for a sex strike, she noted, is historical proof that women have in fact withheld sex to protest or advocate political reforms in the past.
While some fans and 'Hocus Pocus' actress Bette Midler, stood in support of her sex strike, many liberals and conservatives poked fun at her idea. The conservatives mock-praised her idea for promoting abstinence, while the liberals said she basically stating that women only have sex as a favor to men. Her response to the backlash was that her tweet was doing what she had initially intended, "which is getting people to talk about the war on women."
"Protect your vaginas, ladies. Men in positions of power are trying to legislate them," she later tweeted.
July 2019: Marianne Williamson presidential bid support
In July 2019, Milano announced that she would be at the campaign fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, who was set to appear on her 'Sorry, not Sorry' Podcast.
Williamson is infamous for her appearance on the first round of NBC's Democratic debates. Her responses during the show were mostly absurd and unexpected, where she even spoke about former President John F Kennedy sending people to the Moon while other candidates stressed on climate change. So viewers had already made their decision by the next day and Williamson wasn't considered a viable candidate.
But Milano seemed prepared to face any criticism for her decision to support Williamson. She sent out a series of tweets, saying, “I know. I know. But she’s the only candidate talking about the collective, soulful ache of the nation & I think that’s an important discussion to have. And as I’ve said before, I’m not committing to anyone yet. I’m going to support everyone if given the opportunity until the choice is crystal clear.”
The 'I know, I know' is what didn't bode well with many and only indicated a made-up excuse for justifying a possibly problematic choice. Williamson is especially known to be an anti-supporter of science. In one instance in the '90s she even said “the AIDS virus is not more powerful than God," leading to many people coming off their medication leading to them becoming fatally ill.
Milano came under fire for endorsing a candidate that is anti-science and doesn't care about public health.
April 2020: Bernie Sanders supporters are 'toxic'
Milano made headlines when she called people to unify themselves and stand in support of Biden and called Bernie Sanders' supporters (Bernie Bros, as they are often referred to), 'toxic'.
Milano posted a series of tweets addressing Sanders' supporter base, where she also referred to them as toxic and compared them to Trump supporters. evidently, the Bernie Bros weren't impressed one bit with Milano's words that sounded borderline paranoid. They clapped back at her with their contradictory response, but in addition, they also think, that Milano has become problematic to the #MeTooMovement, because of her biased political standing. She backed 2020 Presidential candidate Joe Biden, despite being accused of sexual misconduct against three women.