Rep. Crenshaw: Hollywood elite driving force behind cultural divide
Rep. Dan Crenshaw weighs in on the criticism comedian Ricky Gervais is facing for making fun of Hollywood at the Golden Globes
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas., on Tuesday defended comedian Ricky Gervais' incendiary jokes that made fun of Hollywood celebrities' political grandstanding and went viral on social media.
“Ricky has done a much deeper and more important service to our country than just making us laugh. He’s illuminating their hypocrisy in a way that they might actually change because how many of those actors made some annoying political speech after that,” Crenshaw told “Fox & Friends,” noting that Gervais had the "support of the people."
RICKY GERVAIS' FIERY GOLDEN GLOBES MONOLOGUE SLAMMING HOLLYWOOD DOWNPLAYED, IGNORED BY MUCH OF MEDIA
Golden Globes host Gervais did not get the warmest reception from the mainstream media after his fiery monologue that took direct aim at Hollywood went ablaze on social media.
"You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything," Gervais declared during his monologue at the ceremony. "You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg."
The Washington Post offered a scathing review of Gervais' performance, declaring in its headline that "nobody cared" about his barbs against the A-listers in Tinseltown.
Hank Stuever, the Washington Post's TV critic, claimed Gervais' monologue was filled with "all-too-easy digs" at Felicity Huffman, Joe Pesci, Leonardo DiCaprio and Judy Dench.
Los Angeles Times TV critic Lorraine Ali was even more brutal with her review on the "snarky British comedian."
RICKY GERVAIS SAID HE HAD A 'BLAST' AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES: 'MAKE JOKES, NOT WAR'
"Forget the escapist magic of Hollywood," he wrote. "Nihilism was the name of the game when host Ricky Gervais opened the Golden Globes on Sunday night with a gloom-and-doom monologue so cynical it made the effervescent Tom Hanks scowl."
Ali suggested that Gervais should have been more political, pointing to President Trump's impeachment, the escalating conflict with Iran and ongoing wildfires in Australia.
Crenshaw said that if Americans can’t share politics and put an end to the culture war, then the country should start going back to sharing other things, such as movies and comedy.
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“[Entertainment culture has] become divisive because it’s the fault of the Hollywood elites, because they go up on stage and they make divisive comments and they make fun of 50 percent of the population and they call it a right-wing talking point when they themselves are criticized,” Crenshaw said.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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