Being a Trump supporter in the entertainment business comes with repercussions, Kirstie Alley has revealed.
The former "Cheers" star says she has faced backlash after announcing last year that she was casting a vote for Donald Trump and, in an interview on Fox News’ "Tucker Carlson Today," Alley said she not only lost friends but was also "blackballed" by Hollywood.
"People go, 'You’re so brave.' I go, 'No, I think I’m stupid.' Because honestly ... it is a real blackballing situation," she said. "It’s so strange to me because artists are free-thinkers, for the most part."
Alley added that she had faced a certain level of elevated scrutiny.
"You can be cooking meth and sleeping with hookers, but as long as you didn’t vote for Trump ..." she said. "I feel like I’m in the ‘Twilight Zone’ a bit, with the whole concept of it."
Alley previously voted for Barack Obama, in 2008 and 2012, before speaking out against 2016 Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton. Doing so meant losing friends.
"On Twitter, I had many celebrities follow me, and now I think three follow me," she explained. "I’m the same person. I’m the girl who voted for Obama, twice. And I’m like, 'Oh, so you liked me when I voted for Obama, and now you’re this?'"
Alley said she was defending herself last year against critics who slammed her for being a Trump supporter. In a tweet that sparked the outrage, Alley wrote: "I’m voting for @realDonaldTrump because he’s NOT a politician. I voted for him 4 years ago for this reason and shall vote for him again for this reason. He gets things done quickly and he will turn the economy around quickly. There you have it folks there you have it."
It was not long after the tweet that she came under fire. Taking to Twitter, Judd Apatow claimed Alley dulled in comparison to Shelley Long, who she replaced in season six of "Cheers."
"Shelly Long was way funnier than you," he tweeted, misspelling the star's first name.
"Modern Family" executive producer Danny Zuker also took a jab at Alley's acting.
"Breaking: Shelley Long quitting is no longer dumbest decision made by a "Cheers" actor," he tweeted.
"Kirstie Alley just lost half her audience," one Twitter user replied to Alley's tweet.
"You're in a Cult," another wrote.
Alley responded to the heat on social media, tweeting that she was unable to express her opinions without dealing with pushback.
"Don’t think I’ve ever seen so much name-calling in my life. Definitely not on my site here anyway. I guess I’m not allowed to have a viewpoint without being called a really nasty names by what I’m going to suppose are really nasty people," she tweeted.
"The trick is to ALWAYS divert your attention," Alley added in a follow-up tweet. "Well he doesn’t talk nice. Russia collusion. Must impeach.blah blah blah." Look past the SYSTEM. They hate trump because he’s pulling back the curtain on the Wizards & exposing the DIRTY SYSTEM. VOTE AGAINST THE SYSTEM. #Trump2020"
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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