With two splashy new films to advertise, together with one that might nab her a second Academy Award nomination, Amanda Seyfried could be anticipated to avoid any controversy that might alienate potential audiences.
However that’s not what Seyfried is doing, because the star of the upcoming “The Housemaid” and the Oscar-buzzy “The Testament of Ann Lee” is refusing to apologize for feedback she made on probably the most surprising and politically charged acts of violence in current occasions: the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Whereas many reacted to Kirk’s homicide by praising him as hero of free speech and a galvanizing younger voice in conservative politics, others, like Seyfried, took to social media to level out his historical past of controversial feedback about abortion, immigration, girls and Black folks — rhetoric that The Guardian stated “advocated bigotry, intolerance, exclusion and stereotyping.”
FILE – Turning Level USA Founder Charlie Kirk arrives to talk earlier than Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump throughout a marketing campaign rally at Thomas & Mack Heart, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photograph/Alex Brandon, File)
In response to at least one Instagram publish instantly after Kirk’s dying, the “Mean Girls” star replied from her verified Instagram account: “He was hateful,” the New York Submit reported. In keeping with one other screenshot of Seyfriend’s Instagram Tales, cited by the Submit, she wrote: “You can’t invite violence to the dinner table and be shocked when it starts eating.”
In a brand new interview printed Wednesday, Seyfried addressed the social media backlash she confronted over her Kirk feedback and she or he stated she’s not sorry. Truly, Seyfried extra emphatically stated: “I’m not (expletive) apologizing for that.”
“I mean, for (expletive) sake, I commented on one thing,” Seyfried stated within the interview for the Who What Put on vogue publication. “I said something that was based on actual reality and actual footage and actual quotes. What I said was pretty damn factual, and I’m free to have an opinion, of course. Thank God for Instagram. I was able to give some clarity, and it was about getting my voice back because I felt like it had been stolen and re-contextualized — which is what people do, of course.”
Proper after calling the Turning Level USA founder “hateful,” Seyfried stated she puzzled if she ought to delete her remark however determined towards it, in accordance with her interview as soon as the backlash started, Seyfried stated she was inundated with texts from involved mates and misplaced sleep worrying concerning the security of herself and her household. She tried to neutralize the outrage by writing on Instagram, “We’re forgetting the nuance of humanity. I can get angry about misogyny and racist rhetoric and ALSO very much agree that Charlie Kirk’s murder was absolutely disturbing and deplorable in every way imaginable.”
“No one should have to experience this level of violence,” she added. “This country is grieving too many senseless and violent deaths and shootings. Can we agree on that at least?”
That publish stirred extra outrage, but in addition debate and help for Seyfried’s place. It’s not recognized if Seyfried confronted any speedy skilled repercussions for a way she weighed in on Kirk’s dying.
Quite a lot of folks, throughout all types of professions, obtained into hassle at work as a result of they stated damaging issues about Kirk on social media or within the presence of colleagues, in accordance with a New York evaluation in September. The Occasions discovered 145 individuals who had misplaced their jobs or who have been disciplined, together with a North Carolina police officer who was suspended for calling Kirk racist whereas additionally saying his capturing dying was horrific.
Three months later, Seyfried is selling two films being launched this month. The primary is “The Housemaid,” a shiny psychological thriller, which relies on a best-selling, beach-read-type novel. Due for launch on Dec. 19, “The Housemaid” co-stars Sydney Sweeney, one other feminine star who has been been embroiled in current political controversy.
Seyfried’s second movie ought to enchantment to a extra art-house crowd, in addition to to Oscar voters — all of whom may align extra together with her views on Kirk. Within the historic musical drama, “The Testament of Ann Lee,” Seyfried performs the 18th-century founding father of the Shakers spiritual sect. Due for launch on Christmas Day, “The Testament of Ann Lee” has up to now garnered optimistic critics’ critiques with Seyfried lately touchdown in Gold Derby’s high 5 contenders for a greatest actress Oscar nomination. She beforehand was nominated for a greatest supporting actress Oscar in 2020 for the film “Mank,” and she or he gained an Emmy Award in 2022 for enjoying disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes within the Hulu sequence, “The Dropout.”
However field workplace typically counts extra in Seyfried’s career, particularly in the case of a thriller like “The Housemaid,” which is headlined by enticing younger stars taking part in characters caught in a sensational love/homicide triangle. Maybe problematic for Seyfried, some folks responded to her feedback in September by saying they wouldn’t go see any of her films sooner or later, Web page Six reported.
Web page Six quoted one X consumer who stated, “Amanda Seyfried believes Charlie Kirk assassination was justified. Make sure to never see another one of her movies.” One other X consumer additionally wrote: “I am not watching any more movies with Amanda Seyfried SHE IS SPREADING THE LIE THAT CHARLIE Kirk was Hateful. She should lose her Job. HAS SHE ACTUALLY WATCHED ANY OF CHARLIE KIRK VIDEOS.”
“Amanda Seyfried obviously knows nothing about who Charlie Kirk actually was,” Kolvet stated. “She’s a victim of her own algorithm and echo chamber. But if your reaction to an innocent husband and father being assassinated in cold blood is to pile on and call him ‘hateful’ instead of offering condolences, or just remaining silent — I know wild concept — then you are the hateful one.”
