What you think of actors may vary. Maybe you follow celebrity gossip religiously. Maybe you think they’re overpaid. Whatever your opinion, someone out there shares it. And if you’re someone who thinks celebrities and politics are spheres that should not touch? Well, Kurt Russell shares that opinion with you.
Kurt Russell On Celebrities
On Wednesday, November 18th, 2020, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, romantic partners of 37 years, sat down with the New York Times to speak about one of their few collaborative acting projects, The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two. Turning away from a previous question–the death of the movie star–the reporter asks Russell about something he’s said before.
“Kurt,” she says. “You’ve said in the past that celebrities shouldn’t really weigh in on politics. Do you still feel that way?”
“As far as I’m concerned,” he says, “you should step away from saying anything so that you can still be seen by the audience in any character.” He’s quick to say that “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.” (1)
The Role Of Celebrities And Jesters
Goldie Hawn fires back almost at once: “You’re not always funny.” But humor isn’t what makes a court jester a court jester in Russell’s eyes.
“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 explains. “I think that’s been a big, important part of all cultures throughout history, and I’d like to see it stay in ours.”
Russell isn’t wrong, at least not about the role of the court jester. As an article published on the Boston Lyric Opera’s website says, jesters “were the original “truth tellers,” whose job was to mock typical human vices . . . religion and the hypocrisy of its authority figures; pompous and self-serving scholars and grandiloquent artists; knavish and sycophantic court officials; and indolent, mercurial, or incompetent rulers.” (1, 2)
Goldie Hawn’s Take
Hawn seems to disagree with her partner. After his discourse on jesters and actors, she points out that Ronald Regan was both actor and president.
Russell is quick to defend himself: “Like I said, actors can learn as much as anybody else can.”
“I’m just saying Reagan definitely was a well-known actor,” she retorts. “I think it’s a personal choice whether you want to get into that. 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.” (1)
The Ethical Implications Of Silent Celebrities
Hawn’s take seems to be the more measured, a middle ground we can all agree on. You can say whatever you want. That’s your right as an American. But no one can compel you to speak. That’s also your right.
Perhaps this quote, spoken in various ways by people such as Edmund Burke and John Stuart Mill best sums it up: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.” (3)
