Being pro-life does not make you a “fervid fundamentalist”, either. Between 42-50% of the U.S., depending on which poll you read, considers itself pro-life.
The fact that there are celebrities would disagree with my personal beliefs wouldn’t suprise me, since the normal curve gives the idea that there are plenty of them, and I’m not egotistical enough to believe that I have the one and only correct point of view 100% of the time.
But an unwarranted show of ego, such as those celebrities who feel that everyone else should have the exact same opinion as they do and that you’re boardering on subhuman if you don’t, does effect my view of them. I loose respect for them as a person, and then, by connection, their craft. Oddly enough, it doesn’t extend backwards… Shawshank Redemption is still one of my favorite movies, since I watched the movie before becoming aware of Tim Robbin’s political agendas.
Even if a celebrity’s beliefs don’t bother me, I tend to lose a lot of respect for them if they play a role that is diametrically opposed to their own beliefs, especially when that role is the “bad guy”. I get that voice in the back of my head saying “You’re not playing that role to show off your acting range; you’re doing it solely to discredit those who you disagree with! Grow up!”
There are certain celebrities I detest their personal beliefs, but even so wether I patronize them depends entirely on what I think of their work.
I got rather pissed off at Alec Baldwin when he went on a talk show and went into a frenzy about how certain members of congress(and their families) should be dragged from the homes and beaten to death. However, I still think he can a funny guy(on SNL). The reason I don’t go to see his movies has far more to do with the fact I don’t think he’s a good actor by any strech of the imagination.
One of my favorite authors, HP Lovecraft, was an overt racist, xenophobic, anti-semite, but he wrote damn good fiction, in which those qualities were seldom so overt.
I’d probably end up punching Richard Wagner in the mouth if we talked about certain subjects for 15 minutes, but I like his music and I really enjoyed Das Rheingold when I saw it a couple weeks back(and I was well aware just what Albriech was supposed to symbolize).
I’ll second that. Whenever I see her on TV I almost want to start laughing. I could never take any of her movies seriously, so I’ve never seen one. Plus, I’ve read that she’s a total bitch in real life, so that also helps to avoid her movies.
“Wagner has good moments, and bad quarter-hours.”
I was trying to figure out my standard of when someone’s beliefs bother me and when I could care less. I think PunditLisa nailed it with the word “caustic”.
It doesn’t offend me if someone is a liberal or a conservative. What does offend me is when they approach the situation without tact.
I am a conservative guy, but I don’t mind a Mike Farrell giving a rationale discussion of his opposition to the war. But a Michael Moore on the same topic has a different reaction.
And for the sake of balance, I am annoyed by the same behavior from the right. Not that she is a celeb, but a person like Ann Coulter (though hot), makes me turn off the TV because of her shrill, caustic behavior.
Reasonable minds can disagree. One needn’t belittle the other side to get his or her point across. And that is the outcome of the caustic partisan. If you don’t agree with me you are (choose as many as applies): “intolerant, stupid, naive, evil, ignorant, misinformed, Wayne Newton…etc.”
All of this goes out the window, however, if the project is something I really want to see. I can be annoyed with Tim Robbins about as much as anyone, but I am going to see Mystic River. Shawshank is a favorite.
My social conviction often take a backseat to high quality entertainment…
(despite my plea for centrist tolerance for the ideas of others, this does not apply to scientologists. They are loons! 
)
You apparently are unaware that his “frenzy” on Late Night was planned and done tongue-in-cheek (Conan O’Brien didn’t just happen to have a fire extinguisher behind his desk to spray on Baldwin), as a satire on the degraded level of political discourse in our time.
Correction to my previous post: Conan O’Brien had an oxygen mask behind his desk that he placed on Alec Baldwin’s face.
While I really enjoy his earlier works, Michael Jackson would be another-his behavior just turns me off.
I never meant to suggest that it did, though I can see how my phrasing might have had that implication. Being pro-life myself, and anything but a fervid fundamentalist, I wholeheartedly agree with you, Walloon. And I’d love a cite regarding Heaton’s thirst for Armageddon and/or any other indicators that she is a fundamentalist at all, let alone a fervid one.
Also, I’ve got to chime with to agree with watsonwil – for me, it’s a matter of attitude. Tony Shalhoub and I are diametric opposites, politically speaking, and I was prepared to be gravely disappointed when I saw that he was one of the actors making the rounds of the primetime cable news programs in opposition to the Iraq war. I was impressed, however, and found that he – unlike Streisand, Moore, Alec Baldwin, Ed Asner, Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Affleck and a litany of others – was able to present his position intelligently and calmly. He made it quite clear that he has a brain in his head rather than just a heart in his chest, so you won’t see me skipping Monk this Friday. My appreciation for rational discourse far outweighs my basic distrust/dislike of celebrities who use their notoriety to beat an agenda drum.
Lastly, I’m now dying to know what weirdo beliefs Jimmy Page holds. Is he like a Raelian or a Newt Worshipper or something?
Jesus. It’s just something I read five years ago in some crappy fucking celebrity gossip mag, probably while waiting to get my teeth cleaned. If I’d known I was going to get jumped on by the Patricia Heaton fan club, I’d never have brought it up in the first place.
Though it seems to work nicely because the quality of his music began degrading around the same time as started getting really wierd, so there’s no need to hold my nose to get a new album.
Geez, kneejerk much? Patricia Heaton fan club? Where? I think she’s a third-rate sitcom actress, Emmys notwithstanding. But I do happen to be a strong supporter of the pro-life organization for which she is honorary chair and the public face, so if she’s a nutbar, I’d like to know.
Are you sure she wasn’t just eagerly anticipating a Bruce Willis-Ben Affleck movie?
Of course, that might be worse.
Also, can someone please tell me what the deal is with Madonna and red string? I had no idea she was wearing a red string, or that there was a reason for the red string, or that the red string was at all controversial. I really haven’t paid Madonna much attention since “Justify My Love,” so I’m a bit out of the loop. Someone bring me up to date, please.
Basically, another way for her to be more annoying. She might as well be a Scientologist.
Okay, I take it back. It’s just a really sick joke. It’s one thing to say “I want to kill Henry Hyde”. It’s another to say “I want to kill him and beat his family to death”.
I disagree. And I also think that comparing Kabballah to Scientology is insulting to Judaism. Kabballah study actually has an illustrious scholarly history. Just because Rabbi Berg has watered it down into Kabballah Lite and is raping it to get rich, does not mean it is equal to some made-up fantasy.
:wally ;j
TeaElle, Jimmy Page was really into the occult during the 70’s…to the point of buying Aleister Crowley’s old house.
It gets touched on in an old staff report here. Scroll to the bottom of the answer.
Amen. The ages-old mysticism of the Kabballah has a place and time; what we’re seeing is the unfortunate consequence of a money-hungry shyster bringing it out of that place and time for his own (greedy) purposes. Slag Berg till the cows come home, but the Kabballah deserves far more respect than either Berg or inaccurate comparisons can offer.
And captaindoesnotlikeyou, thanks for the heads up on Page.
Kung Fu, I could be wrong but I believe the comparison of the Kabbalah to Scientology is not so much its core beliefs but how celebrities embrace these various philosophies to make them appear as if they have reached a higher level of enlightenment than we mere mortals. Richard Gere and his obsession over Tibet is another example.
On another note, I would also like to add Jennifer Lopez to the list of celebrities whose personal life has intruded on her professional life. I think she’s a lovely woman. However, she’s flakier than a blizzard. I can’t imagine spending money to see her in a movie.