Zachary Levi says his assist for President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t resulted in “profession suicide” in any case.
Showing on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast this week, the “Shazam!” actor shrugged off the implication that he’d been “canceled” by Hollywood for his endorsement of Trump within the 2024 election.
“I hope I haven’t been canceled but,” Levi mentioned. “I imply, if it occurs, it occurs.”
“I already had a number of jobs that I used to be within the technique of taking pictures or that I’ve but to shoot, and none of these have been compromised,” he added.
When Maher pressed for clarification, Levi added, “None of my producers or any of the studios behind these movies or initiatives have known as and mentioned, ‘Hey hear, it is a line too far, and we are able to’t have you ever related to the challenge anymore.’ We’re all nonetheless full steam forward on these.”
Although Levi initially supported former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he formally endorsed Trump in September. On the time, he acknowledged that his stance may “very effectively may represent profession suicide” given the “very liberal” views of many Hollywood heavyweights.
Simply weeks later, the actor discovered himself on the receiving finish of backlash from throughout the Broadway group when he used his former co-star Gavin Creel’s demise to advertise a conspiracy principle about COVID-19 vaccines.
In a video posted to Instagram in October, Levi surmised that Creel, with whom he co-starred within the 2016 revival of “She Loves Me” on Broadway, “would nonetheless be alive” if he hadn’t gotten vaccinated towards COVID-19.
After suggesting that the COVID-19 vaccines have been “pressured on the American public” regardless of recognized uncomfortable side effects together with “turbo cancers,” Levi said: “With out a shadow of a doubt, I imagine that Gavin Creel could be alive proper now — proper fucking now — he would nonetheless be alive if that stuff didn’t get put into his physique.”
Creel, beloved by theater followers for his performances in “Good day, Dolly!” and “Into the Woods,” amongst different musicals, died of a uncommon and aggressive type of most cancers in September.
Levi’s claims have been shortly condemned by a litany of fellow Broadway performers. Showing on “That’s A Gay Ass Podcast” final week, actor Laura Benanti didn’t maintain again when requested about her expertise engaged on “She Loves Me” with Levi.
“I by no means favored him,” Benanti said. “Everybody was like, ‘He’s so nice!’ And I used to be like, ‘No, he’s not. He’s sucking up all of the fucking vitality on this room. He desires to mansplain everyone’s half to them.’”
“For [Levi] to make use of [Creel’s] reminiscence ― an individual he was not associates with ― to make use of his reminiscence for his political agenda and to observe him attempt to make himself cry till he had one single tear, which he didn’t wipe away, I used to be like, ‘Fuck you endlessly,’” she added.
Benanti, a 2009 Tony Award winner for “Gypsy” recognized for her impressions of Melania Trump on “The Late Present with Stephen Colbert,” additionally conceded that Levi’s preliminary claims about “profession suicide” have been doubtful.
“Christian, faith-based TV and movie is large. He’s going to be an enormous fucking star in that realm,” she mentioned. “He’s going to earn more money than he ever has.”
Take heed to Zachary Levi’s “Membership Random with Invoice Maher” interview here. His feedback on Trump start across the 5:05 mark.
