Chris Pratt Is Under Fire For Making These Election Comments
Chris Pratt is facing criticism for an Instagram post and people are freaking out and cancelling him.
This article is more than 2 years old
Voting in elections this year is understandably extremely important, and it’s almost impossible to go anywhere on the Internet without being reminded to check your voter registration status or make a voting plan. But Chris Pratt is facing criticism for an Instagram post that makes light of the upcoming election.
In the post, Chris Pratt wrote, “With all that’s going on in the world it is more important than ever that you vote. Just ask any celebrity. They will tell you. Every day. Several times a day. To vote. But me? I will tell you EXACTLY who to vote for. #onward 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.” The comment was posted alongside a promotional image for Pratt’s 2020 Pixar film, Onward, on which he’s also tagged his co-star, Tom Holland.
Again, one can understand Chris Pratt making fun of the fatigue that comes with being reminded about the election over and over, but with plenty of division and frustrations towards *waves arms wildly* everything right now, Pratt’s joke doesn’t land as well as he might have hoped.
Here’s a sampling of just some of the crazy reaction he’s been getting…
It’s also a strange and pointed comment to make, considering the political statements many of his former cast members have been making recently. Aubrey Plaza, who played April Ludgate and Chris Pratt’s wife on Parks and Recreation, has been very vocal about the election on her own Instagram page. Also last month, the cast of Parks and Recreation reunited for A Parks and Rec Town Hall event to benefit the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. While most of the past, including Plaza, Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Adam Scott, Jim O’Heir, Retta and series creator Michael Schur all united for the cause, Pratt was noticeably absent.
Pratt’s post is also questionable to some because it occurred the same week that Disney announced their parks would be laying off 28,000 employees. Theme park journalist and podcaster Carlye Wisel said of Pratt’s statement on her Twitter account: “the Chris Pratt thing is even *more* egregious when you remember that people who create, build and operate theme park attractions he stars in – – at multiple resorts!! – – are overwhelmed *daily* with the stress of if they still have a job and how to move forward if they don’t”.
Wisel went on to say in subsequent posts, “someone with a platform and big money can surely do more than campaign for the most laughable award show in existence,” and later said, “it’s the type of ‘joke’ you’re only able to make when you are rich, white and part of a protected class for which a presidential election will not significantly impact your life. it’s devoid of tact, through and through.” Pratt will soon have even more representation at several parks, as Universal Orlando recently confirmed their “Jurassic World VelociCoaster,” which will be debut in 2021, and the “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind” roller coaster should be coming to Epcot also in 2021.
Chris Pratt has occasionally opened up about his politics in the past, but has stayed mostly quiet in recent years. Pratt donated to Barack Obama’s campaign in 2012, but in an interview with Men’s Fitness in 2017, Pratt said, “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.”
If you feel like voting in the “most consequential vote,” you can vote for the People’s Choice Awards here, where Chris Pratt’s Onward is nominated for The Family Movie of 2020 against such films as Dolittle, Sonic the Hedgehog and Trolls World Tour.
