Kurt Russell Thinks Celebrities 'Should Step Away' from Being Vocally Political: 'We Are Court Jesters'
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Kurt Russell feels celebrities should keep their political views to themselves.
Though it's now common for celebrities to be involved politically, Russell still subscribes to the old-school Hollywood rule of always being an entertainer to all audiences.
"I’ve always been someone who felt we are court jesters. That’s what we do," he said alongside longtime love Goldie Hawn in a new joint interview for The New York Times. The couple were promoting their upcoming Netflix movie Christmas Chronicles 2.
"As far as I’m concerned, you should step away from saying anything so that you can still be seen by the audience in any character," he continued. "There’s no reason entertainers can’t learn just as much as anybody else about a subject, whatever it is. But I think that what’s sad about it is that they lose their status as a court jester. And I’m a court jester. That’s what I was born to do."
When Hawn, 73, poked back saying he's "not always funny," Russell, 69, explained that being funny isn't always the job of a jester.
"A court jester isn’t always funny. A court jester is the only one who can walk into the castle and put the king down as long as he doesn’t hit too close to home," he said. "I think that’s been a big, important part of all cultures throughout history, and I’d like to see it stay in ours."
"But we did have a president who was an actor, Ronald Reagan," countered Hawn.
"Like I said, actors can learn as much as anybody else can," Russell replied in the interview.
This prompted Hawn to share her views that it's a "personal choice" to use a platform or not.
"Well, I’m just saying Reagan definitely was a well-known actor. I think it’s a personal choice whether you want to get into that," she said, adding: "The one thing I don’t agree with is that just because we have a platform we always have to use it. That is our choice."
Russell and Hawn's children have been more vocal politically.
Kate Hudson frequently urged her followers on social media to vote in the 2020 presidential election and posted a celebratory picture of President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden after it was called.
Quoting Abraham Lincoln in the caption next to a shot of the Bidens, Hudson said she was celebrating their win.
“Gonna take a queue from Honest Abe and I guess now what’s left to do is bring people (including myself) BEER 🍻 HAPPY WEEKEND," she wrote.
And while Hawn herself chose not to use her platform to speak about the election, she did mourn the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September.
"I know we can’t live forever, I only wish she could have," Hawn wrote next to a drawing of the late Justice, who was a leading figure in the fight for women's rights and equality.
