Chris Pratt's Trump controversy sparks debate about celebrities sharing political views

It feels like it’s been a millennium since the great Chris Pratt debate of 2020 began, and yet the discourse forges on.

Since the internet crowned Pratt as the ‘Worst Chris’ last week for possibly being a conservative, there’s been a lot of discussion about whether all of this is justified.

His Marvel friends, including Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana, took to social media to defend him, and then there’s the question of whether he actually is right wing, considering he’s never actually come out and stated his political beliefs. That being said, you only really need to take a look at who he’s following to get an idea of who he supports.

Now the discussion has moved on to a debate about celebrities being political. It all started when Vox’s Matthew Yglesias suggested that celebrities voicing their politics is only a recent phenomenon.

Unsurprisingly, people came out in droves to prove that he’s extremely wrong.

Plenty of people from the classic Hollywood era were politically outspoken.

Some even faced repercussions for their politics.

Remember when Charlie Chaplin made a whole movie about Hitler?

Basically, the list is very long.

There’s also Jean Seberg, who was harassed by the FBI for her vocal support for the civil rights movement.

Marlon Brando also refused to accept his Oscar for The Godfather because of Hollywood’s treatment of Native Americans. He sent actress Sacheen Littlefeather to accept the award in his place – and she was booed for it.

One look at Hollywood’s history proves that the industry has always been entrenched in politics.

It certainly doesn’t begin and end with Chris Pratt.