Actor Chris Pratt has come under fire for posting "insensitive" remarks about voting. The "Guardians of the Galaxy" star wrote the controversial comments in an Instagram post urging his 29.4 million followers to vote for his Pixar film, "Onward," in this year's People’s Choice Awards. Many people felt his post was making a mockery of the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
"With all that’s going on in the world it is more important than ever that you vote. Just ask any celebrity," Pratt wrote as a caption for an image of the "Onwards" movie poster. "They will tell you. Every day. Several times a day. To vote. But me? I will tell you EXACTLY who to vote for," he continued.
"The heroes before us did not spill their blood only to have their sacrifices wasted by your apathy. The upcoming 2020 People’s Choice Awards is the most consequential vote in the history of mankind times a million infinity. Vote for #Onward for family movie of the year. Or else. You WILL die. No hyperbole. Click the link in my bio. Let your voice be heard."
It was not long before the backlash ensued.
"I get this is supposed to be a cute little joke but it comes off as really insensitive. The upcoming election is really important and everyone should vote and for you to try and take that and turn it into an ad for your movie is low," one follower wrote.
"This is super insensitive. Read the room. Oh wait you did and decided to mock people. Coooooooollllllll," another replied to the post while a third added: "Imagine the amount of privilege one person can have to write this tone deaf post."
"This is incredibly tone deaf and speaking as a fan I have no idea how you could have possibly thought this was appropriate," another chimed in.
Not all fans were offended by the post and others jumped to defend Pratt.
"He’s not mocking the voting process, he’s mocking celebrities. Y’all are too sensitive," wrote one person.
"People literally are so sensitive about everything, grow a backbone and take a joke. It’s madness," another added.
Pratt has not revealed which candidate he supports for the upcoming election, but in a previous interview with Men's Health, said that neither the Democrats or Republicans left him feeling "represented," according to Fox News.
"I really feel there’s common ground out there that’s missed because we focus on the things that separate us," he said at the time. "You’re either the red state or the blue state, the left or the right. Not everything is politics. And maybe that’s something I’d want to help bridge, because I don’t feel represented by either side.”
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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