John Malkovich speaks out against 'outrage culture,' warns of 'tidal wave of idiocy' for comedians

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John Malkovich spoke out against "outrage culture" and the recent trend of the public calling for comedians to be "canceled." 

The 66-year-old actor is one of the stars of Netflix’s "Space Force," a satirical comedy loosely based on the real-life branch of the military created by President Trump. Speaking with the New York Daily News, Malkovich said he’s less worried about the comedy of the show holding up to the test of time and more worried about the risk of it getting swept up in the outrage machine. 

"What’s funny yesterday becomes illegal today and the person uttering it must be canceled," Malkovich told the outlet. "Outrage culture is as strong as it is toxic."

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John Malkovich spoke out against 'outrage culture' while promoting his new show 'Space Force.' (Netflix)

He added: "Part of what makes [comedy] difficult is also the tidal wave of idiocy that can be created on social media in a day… the outrage mob." 

The star's comments echo similar ones made by Jamie Foxx after "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon found himself in hot water earlier this week for appearing in blackface while impersonating Chris Rock for a 2000 sketch on "SNL." Foxx argued that Fallon was doing an impression for the sake of comedy and urged people calling for the host to be canceled to "let this one go." 

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As Malkovich notes, Fallon is hardly the first celebrity to be swept up in a scandal that saw past indiscretions resurface by people on the Internet who then demand the end of their career. Kevin Hart, James Gunn and Shawn Mendes have all issued apologies for tweets that didn’t age well.

John Malkovich stars alongside Steve Carell in Netflix's 'Space Force.' (Netflix)

In "Space Force," Malkovich plays Dr. Adrian Mallory, a scientist tasked with achieving the lofty goals given to the new branch of the military by an unnamed president that’s eerily reminiscent of Trump. He stars alongside celebrities such as Steve Carell, Ben Schwartz, Lisa Kudrow and more in a show about the impossible lengths the people tasked with the new military branch go to in order to not be seen as failures.

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"It’s about the possibilities of an unlikely directive to achieve a goal," the actor concluded. "On a certain level, it’s about teamwork, a concept quite lost in this United States of America at present."