Hollywood star Kurt Russell is refusing to back down. The veteran actor came under fire over his conservative statement, and that’s when he pointed to the Founding Fathers to defend his views.
Kurt Russell believes celebrities should stay out of politics. In fact, he made that crystal clear during an interview with The New York Times. The Overboard actor, who identifies as a “hardcore libertarian,” admitted his opinion on politics varies greatly from most Hollywood celebrities and entertainers.
However, when questioned by a reporter regarding gun control, Russell bluntly stated: “If you think gun control is going to change the terrorists’ point of view, I think you’re, like, out of your mind.” That statement created a lot of heat from the media. Russell later admitted he felt “ambushed” in that interview and had “begrudgingly made comments” on gun control.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, the Tango & Cash star not only doubled down on his gun control remarks but also explained how he became a libertarian. “When I was a young guy, I was finding myself not quite being able to see the things that were going on and buy into a political culture,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do, so I finally said, ‘Why don’t I go back and see what the Founding Fathers were all about, and see how that stacked up. Well, I found them and I found libertarianism. They were pretty radical guys, and damn smart, and I just believe in that old-time stuff and think they had great ideas.”
Russell mentioned in another interview how this also impacted his views on the Constitutional right to bear arms. “I think there’s a very strong reason the Founding Fathers had for the Second Amendment and that is that no government ever hasn’t had to fight its own people,” he said. “I think that’s an important part of our existence.”
Russell rarely discusses his broader libertarianism publicly. He has a policy of turning down invitations to appear on political talk shows to stay true to his belief that celebrities have no business lecturing Americans. “I don’t want to go on those shows and have someone think: ‘The last thing I want to do is watch Kurt Russell talk about sh*t that I don’t think he knows anything about.”
Russell also decided to clear the air about his core beliefs. “I believe in limited Constitutional government, free market capitalism, reach for the brass ring,” he said. “There’s this place where you can go do that and don’t step on anybody’s toes and still try to reach for the brass ring.”
The Escape from New York star also had some harsh words when it was pointed out that his political views are in the “extreme minority” in Hollywood. “I’ve heard some pretty rough things through the years that were really undeserved,” he said. “But the number one thing was my case was worse, because I couldn’t say, ‘I’m a Republican, sorry.’ I wasn’t a Republican, I was worse: I was a hardcore libertarian.”
“I was brought up as a Republican, but when I realized that at the end of the day there wasn’t much difference between a Democrat and Republican, I became a libertarian,” Russell said. The Backdraft star also believes there is a lot of fakery surrounding politics in Hollywood. “I’m not a Bill Maher libertarian,” Russell declared. “That’s faux-libertarianism. He doesn’t know what it is. I like him, and he’s a nice guy, but seriously, that’s not libertarianism. The other thing I’ve found is that a lot of liberals in Hollywood are faux-liberals, and a lot of Republicans in Hollywood are faux-conservatives.”
The Tombstone star also revealed that his views made him unpopular when socializing with the Hollywood crowd. “As the years have gone by, yes, I clearly at times was—at least in terms of ‘the hang’—politically persona non grata,” he said. “But I always had a good time talking about things with people. The thing people did get to know about me if they engaged me is that I’m fair, I’m pretty energetic, and I’m pretty knowledgeable. I don’t pop off without finding out about stuff—and I like finding out about stuff, and don’t have that much of an agenda about it.”
Kurt Russell and his longtime partner actress Goldie Hawn have been together since 1983. Russell started out as a child actor and is one of the few who successfully transitioned into becoming a major Hollywood talent as an adult.