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Kurt Russell says actors should stay apolitical as they are 'court jesters', Internet says he's 'clearly wise'

'I’ve always been someone who felt we are court jesters,' Russell said. 'That’s what we do. As far as I’m concerned, you should step away from saying anything so that you can still be seen by the audience in any character'

Although he could have easily become the victim of cancel culture, instead Kurt Russell was praised by his fans on Twitter after he opined that actors should stay apolitical as it hurts their craft and alienates audience demographics. 

“I’ve always been someone who felt we are court jesters,” Russell told The New York Times. “That’s what we do. As far as I’m concerned, you should step away from saying anything so that you can still be seen by the audience in any character.”

He added: “There’s no reason entertainers can’t learn just as much as anybody else about a subject, whatever it is,” he said. “But I think that what’s sad about it is that they lose their status as a court jester. And I’m a court jester. That’s what I was born to do. A court jester is the only one who can walk into the castle and put the king down as long as he doesn’t hit too close to home. I think that’s been a big, important part of all cultures throughout history, and I’d like to see it stay in ours."

Russell's fans could see some sense in his words and even urged the actor's peers to follow his advice. "Agreed. I mean they can say whatever they want but it’s way better if they don’t take sides and just do their job and entertain people," one said, while another commented, "There's a few out there that get it. Respect." A third remarked, "Right on. It absolutely does. I have no interest in movies anymore." Someone else wrote, "Thank you Mr. Russell. Tell your friends." The next quipped, "Love when he unapologetically defends 2nd amendment."

A fan said, "One of my all time favorite actors. And clearly a wise man." Another wrote, "Kurt Russell is and will always be my man crush. This is further proof that I have made the right decision." The next tweeted, "He knows a thing or two about acting so most actors should be listening." One person commented, "Don't they cover this in Acting 101?" and another said, "Love this. Any craft should exclude politics, I suppose unless your craft is politics."

Some of the other actors who have made similar arguments like Russell include Anthony Hopkins and Mark Wahlberg. Speaking with Brad Pitt for Interview Magazine, Hopkins said he preferred keeping his opinions about the movie industry or world events to himself because it’s “not worth anything.” “I don’t have any opinions,” he said. “Actors are pretty stupid. My opinion is not worth anything. There’s no controversy for me, so don’t engage me in it, because I’m not going to participate.”

In 2017, following President Trump’s inauguration, Wahlberg said celebrities should stay out of politics. “You know, it just goes to show you that people aren’t listening to that anyway. They might buy your CD or watch your movie, but you don’t put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills,” he said in an interview with Task & Purpose. “A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble. They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family.”

“Look, I’ve never gone out and talked about politics. I’m an actor,” Wahlberg later told Yahoo Finance. “Both Republicans and Democrats buy movie tickets. I had a strong opinion and I didn’t choose to voice it out in the public, but now that somebody is in office, let’s all just come together and rally around him and make sure he has the best chance to succeed.”