Wil Wheaton angers people of faith with furious tweet at Paul Ryan
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Actor Wil Wheaton, pictured here guest starring on an episode of "The Big Bang Theory," recently received backlash on Twitter over comments he made to house speaker Paul Ryan. (CBS)
Former “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Stand By Me” star Wil Wheaton faced a backlash after denigrating prayers offered for the Texas shooting victims, tweeting if "prayers did anything, they'd still be alive."
On Sunday, in the midst of news coming out about the situation in Sutherland Springs, Texas, the 45-year-old star responded to House speaker Paul Ryan’s note of condolence on Twitter.
“Reports out of Texas are devastating. The people of Sutherland Springs need our prayers right now,” Ryan wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The murdered victims were in a church. If prayers did anything, they’d still be alive, you worthless sack of sh--,” the star wrote in a reply tweet.
Many fans were immediately upset at Wheaton's flippant response to the tweet, arguing that he dismissed prayer and those with faith far too easily.
“Seriously? So this sicko kills people in a church and somehow it’s Gods fault? Or prayer? You have an interesting perspective. No hate,” one said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“One thing to attack a politician, it’s another to attack the innocent dead and all religion. Looks like you’re the worthless sack of sh--,” another wrote.
The backlash caused the actor to produce a series of tweets explaining his comments and apologizing to any people of faith that were offended.
“I’m not talking about religion or faith at all. I am talking about the speaker of the house who does nothing to address gun violence,” he replied. “Hey, real and actual people of faith: I hear you. I apologise for insulting you, in my rage at Paul Ryan’s refusal to address gun violence. Your faith is your business and people like Paul Ryan exploit it while they hide behind words without deeds, and people continue to die.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wheaton was by no means the only celebrity sharing their thoughts on the matter with their Twitter following. Chelsea Handler received backlash over her comments in which she outright blamed republicans for the situation in Texas.