‘Landman’ Star, Billy Bob Thornton, Is Tired Of Actors Giving Political Speeches At Awards Shows: “Are We Supposed To Follow This?”
Billy Bob Thornton is fed up with actors and actresses trying to talk politics.
The Landman leading man is used to having conversations surrounding the political environment. After all, the Taylor Sheridan hit show he stars in has stirred up a fair share of controversial moments tied in with Republican and Democratic ideals. Thornton has always maintained that Landman doesn’t have a political agenda, and that fans that watch and get upset about the show being pro-oil are a little ridiculous.
I mean… Tommy Norris is an oil fixer. How could Landman ever be anti-oil?
The 70-year-old actor recently sat down for an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience and spoke on his experiences as an actor in Hollywood. Rogan brought up the fact that figures in the acting realm trying to talk about politics can often be a turn off for fans… and implied that no one really cares when they do.
Thornton was in 100% agreement, saying that he works with a lot of charities and that no one ever really hears about it. That’s because he doesn’t do it for the recognition… he does it to actually be a helping force in the world. So when Thornton sees high-profile people up on stage at awards shows trying to make the moment about a political issue, he knows that if it bothers him, it certainly bothers the fans watching:
“I donate to a lot of charities, mainly children’s stuff. But nobody knows it. I don’t go to the award show and talk about it while I’m getting my award.
It’s like Ricky Gervais said, ‘Look, come up here, accept your little award, and f*** off.’ First of all, unless you’ve really studied stuff and know about a subject fully, who the hell would want to listen to a musician or an actor talk about politics?
It’s like, ‘Are we supposed to follow this? If we are, what if they lead you down the wrong road?’”
Billy Bob Thornton’s got a point there.
The actor and musician (that’s right, Billy Bob’s got a band) went on to say that he’s not a fan of how divisive politics have become. He’d rather an award winner get up on stage and make a statement against politics altogether than one that’s tied into one side’s agenda.
And as he’s said before, Thornton believes that it’s time for something fresh to enter into politics… and it might look a little something like the “common sense” party:
“And politically, I call myself a radical moderate. I’m very strong in my opinions. But, my opinions don’t belong to any political party. I just look at what makes sense. And I think we need a common sense party in this country. That’s actually what we need.”
I’d guess that many Landman fans would agree with the “actors and actresses need to stop talking about politics at awards shows” point that Thornton made. As for the common sense party, I’m not so sure. There’s been a lot of championing online when the Taylor Sheridan show points out discrepancies with clean energy solutions and climate change. That’s obviously tied to the Democratic side of things… but all in all, the show is more interested in presenting truths than changing minds.
You can hear Thornton touch on that more in the interview below:
Joe Rogan Experience – Billy Bob Thornton
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