Billy Bob Thornton isn’t holding back when it comes to Hollywood’s obsession with politics.
In a new sit-down on The Joe Rogan Experience, the Oscar-winning actor said he’s tired of celebrities turning award shows into political soapboxes. “I don’t really care about awards anymore,” Thornton said. “I’ve got plenty of them—and I won most of them under the wire, when awards were kind of real still.”
He said the events have lost their magic. “These days I just look at it like, ‘Oh, OK, we’re gonna go over here and have some dry chicken breast and green beans and listen to people pontificate about how awesome they are.’”
Thornton said if someone truly feels honored, they should use their speech to thank people — not preach. “There is a time and place for that,” he said. “You should just stick to what it is.”
Then he dropped the line that had Rogan cracking up. “Don’t go up there and talk about saving the badgers in Wisconsin or something,” he said. “If you have a billion dollars and you want to save the badgers, f---ing save them. You got plenty of money to save the badgers.”
Rogan agreed, saying Hollywood elites use causes as a way to show off how “amazing” they are.
Thornton, best known for Sling Blade, said he’s grateful he didn’t find fame too early. “If I had been nominated for an Academy Award when I was 21, who knows what I would’ve done with it?” he said. “I’m kind of happy about that.”
He now stars alongside Demi Moore in Landman on Paramount+, playing an oil executive trying to climb to the top of the industry — a role that couldn’t be further from Hollywood’s political bubble.
Thornton’s message hit home for a lot of people tired of actors preaching politics: Just act, take your award, and leave the virtue signaling at the door.