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Rob Schneider is speaking out against what he calls the “rot in the soul of Hollywood.”
The actor says Hollywood is “dismantling itself,” and part of the problem is the “blacklisting” of conservative celebrities.
Schneider, known for his stint on “Saturday Night Live” and for movies like “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” and “The Hot Chick,” said in a recent interview that when he started publicly talking about his right-leaning political views, his acting opportunities went out the window.
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Rob Schneider said that when he began sharing his political views, “that was it” for his Hollywood career. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
“That was it for me starring in movies,” he explained on the “American Thought Leaders” podcast.
“The act of telling the truth in an age of authoritarianism, in an age of lies, is a courageous act,” he continued. “And I’m not saying that I’m courageous. When I think of real courage, I think of … in any major city, the cemeteries of people who gave their, what Lincoln describes, the last full measure of their devotion for this great land.”
He added, “That is a sacrifice. I mean, the fact that I’ll never make ‘Deuce Bigalow’ 4, 5 and 6, I think is fine.”
Schneider laughed at the comparison of the two, but he did admit that the impact his views have had on his career is “a bummer.”
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Schneider called his stalled acting career “a bummer.” (Getty Images/Jason LaVeris)
“Show business, wrong or right, they don’t want any controversy,” he said. “You know, they don’t want you being mouthy or anything, and that makes sense, but I do think that at a certain point, if we’re going to have a society and if we’re going to continue to have a free society, it’s going to require people to step up and be courageous.”
He said that the First Amendment does allow for this kind of courageousness, but acknowledged that freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences – “you can ask Jimmy Kimmel,” he quipped, referencing Kimmel’s brief suspension in September 2025 after his comments on the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“It’s going to cost you,” Schneider admitted.
The comedic actor said that Hollywood doesn’t “want any controversy.” (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
He gave Charlton Heston as an example: a legendary actor and an early supporter of the civil rights movement who was later “rejected by the liberal intelligentsia because he just happened to be a conservative.”
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“I think that’s shameful,” he admitted. “I think that’s a rot in the soul of Hollywood. And I think today’s blacklisting of conservatives is the same thing. I think, at its core, it is adding to its destruction. And I think we are seeing Hollywood completely dismantle itself.”
Schneider believes that many people will start, or have already started, getting their entertainment from social media instead of watching movies. (FilmMagic.com/FilmMagic)
Schneider believes that in five years, many major film studios in Los Angeles “will just be real estate,” and instead of leaning on Hollywood movies for entertainment, audiences will increasingly turn to watching videos on social media instead of films.
“I think you’re going to see – you’re seeing right now – a rejection of Hollywood … you’re seeing an implosion of it.”
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