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John Rich sees the cracks forming in Hollywood’s resistance to President Trump, and he thinks it relates to cancel culture.
“I think a lot of people in Hollywood, even though they’re leftists in a big way, they also felt the censorship machine coming after them,” the country singer, who recently released a new single “The Devil and the TVA” about his successful fight against a Tennessee Valley Authority power project, told Fox News Digital.
“If you look at comedy, for instance, I’ve got some huge, huge comedian friends that are, like one guy in particular, it was a Bernie Sanders supporter. I mean, way left. And he even said, ‘I’m afraid to say certain jokes on stage right now. Fear of being canceled.’ And I said, ‘Well, man, that ain’t no way to live. I mean, that’s not American.’”
Rich said the comedian ultimately told him he planned to vote for Trump for that reason.
“And so, I think the monster began to eat itself. The woke monster, the censorship monster began to eat itself,” he added.
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John Rich says Hollywood praise of Trump shows “woke monster” fading. Rich’s comments come after Woody Allen called Trump a “pleasure to work with and a very good actor” when he directed him in the 1998 movie “Celebrity.” ( Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, Stefania D’Alessandro/WireImage)
Rich’s comments come after Woody Allen called Trump a “pleasure to work with and a very good actor” when he directed him in the 1998 movie “Celebrity.”
“He was very polite, hit his mark and did everything correctly and had a real flair for show business,” Allen said in an interview with Bill Maher on his “Random” podcast on Monday. “I could direct him now if he would let me, direct him now that he’s president. I think I could do wonders, but he was very easy to work with.”
Allen stressed that he doesn’t support Trump politically, saying he voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris, and he takes “issue with him on 95% of the things, maybe 99%, but as an actor to work with he was very good. He was very convincing, and he had a charismatic quality as an actor.”
Woody Allen, in an interview with Bill Maher on his “Random” podcast on Monday, called Trump a “pleasure to work with and a very good actor” when he directed him in the 1998 movie “Celebrity.” (Getty Images)
“If you think you were canceled before,” Maher joked.
Maher, who doesn’t consider himself a Trump supporter, also praised the president recently.
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In April, after the comedian met with the president, he called him “gracious and measured” and self-deprecating.
Woody Allen standing in front of the poster for the 1998 movie “Celebrity.” (Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty Images)
He added that Trump gave him “a very generous amount of time, and a willingness to listen and accept me as a possible friend.”
Carrie Underwood, who usually stays out of politics, was one of the most notable celebrities to perform at Trump’s inauguration in January.
Carrie Underwood singing at Trump’s inauguration. ( Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images)
“I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration,” she said at the time. “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Snoop Dogg last year said that he had “nothing but love and respect” for Trump after he pardoned a man connected to Death Row Records who had helped Snoop early in his career.
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“Donald Trump? He ain’t done nothing wrong to me,” he told The Sunday Times. “He has done only great things for me.”
It marked a reversal for the rapper, who had previously criticized the president, calling him a “punk” in 2020 and saying he planned to vote for the first time because “I can’t stand to see this punk in office one more year.”
Snoop also performed at the inauguration and, in answer to a backlash from fans, he said, “For all the hate, I’m going to answer with love.”
Kid Rock with Trump in April. (White House)
In January, Trump supporter Kid Rock chimed in, saying he thinks celebrities feel “safe” to show their support for the president now.
“Now they feel it’s safe to go in the water after dipping their toe in it for four to eight years,” he joked to “Fox & Friends Weekend.” “I mean, welcome to the party, like I’ve said. Better to have them on board than not,” he added.
Snoop Dogg said recently he has nothing but “love and respect” for President Trump after years of criticizing him. ( Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
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Eric Schiffer, CEO of Reputation Management Consultants, told Fox News Digital that “Hollywood learned the obvious – that attacking half the country is a dumb growth strategy and flattering is smart, scalable, and safe.”
He added that “Post-strike economics are merciless as ad-tier streaming needs red-state wallets, so flattering Trump is a revenue strategy, not a moral crisis. Dollars talk and Hollywood decided it’s not toxic to say the quiet part out loud anymore. The town’s new math is savage in that outrage decays, audiences pay, so ‘respect for Trump’s chops’ is suddenly a hard-nosed business note, not heresy.”
John Rich with Donald and Melania Trump in 2011. (Jim Spellman/WireImage)
He said as audiences “tilt right, flattering Trump is now a business plan, not a blunder. It’s important to note, the town isn’t in love, it’s reading the room — America’s appetite for anti-woke hits made nice words about Trump a low-risk, high-reward play.”
Doug Eldridge, of Achilles PR, echoed Schiffer’s comments, saying: “Hollywood isn’t about talent, it’s about temperature. They follow what’s hot, what’s not, and most importantly, what’s cold.”
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“The calculation became painfully binary: elections are won by ballot boxes; movies are won by box offices. The same majority of Americans who voted overwhelmingly in support of Trump and his platform, would soon be lining up—or not lining up, as the case may be—to buy tickets to those same actors’ next feature film.”