I love Hollywood. I love movies. I love LA. What I’m not too crazy about is something in the water, it seems, convincing select residents of Tinseltown that their political ideas should disproportionately inform or direct the destiny of the world (here, here, here, and here).

A band of entertainers have recently threatened to boycott Georgia unless the state doesn’t protect babies with heartbeats (see more here).

Translation: “We’re a small number of people who get paid to stand on taped X’s and say what someone told us to. But our rightful position is to dictate the abortion legislation — which would otherwise be subject to millions of voters — in other peoples’ states, not our own.”

I can’t wrap my head around that. But maybe I just haven’t thought about it enough.

Either way, there’s some tension on the limbs of the Baldwin family tree as of late, over the Georgia hoopla.

A petition being talked up by my personal heartbreak, Alyssa Milano, includes a signature by Alec Baldwin (here, here, here, here, and here).

There are over 20 productions shooting in GA & the state just voted to strip women of their bodily autonomy.

Hollywood! We should stop feeding GA economy. #HB481IsBadForBusiness

Heartbeat bill approved by Georgia Senate https://t.co/sFdahrIGnY https://t.co/TXJKMOPHcJ

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) March 23, 2019

On April Fool’s Day, Alec’s brother — outspoken Christian Stephen — took to the Twitterwaves to comment (I’ve cleaned up the quote a bit):

“Avoided tweets like this long as I could now. Too overwhelming. Love will ultimately win. Jesus [loves]. But for so long, I’ve sat back & trusted God as my own family members have perpetrated the spirit of hate through abortion, mockery & blindness. #sad#Alec #hates #pray”

avoided tweets like this
long as I could now
to overwhelming
Love will ultimately wins
Jesus ❤️
but for so long I’ve sat back & trusted God as my own family members have perpetrated the spirit of hate …
through abortion
Mockery & blindness #sad#Alec #hates #pray

— Stephen Baldwin (@StephenBaldwin7) April 1, 2019

An hour earlier, he also wrote this:

#Hollywood #sad#goingtohell 🔥#pray

— Stephen Baldwin (@StephenBaldwin7) April 1, 2019

Here’s the boycott letter:

To @BrianKempGA & Speaker Ralston:
Attached, is an open letter signed by 50 actors against #HB481. On behalf of the undersigned–as people often called to work in GA or those of us contractually bound to work in GA–we hope you'll reconsider signing this bill. #HBIsBadForBusiness pic.twitter.com/DsOmAWYU2x

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) March 28, 2019

What a pair the two make — left-wing Alec and conservative Stephen. But I suppose that’s more real than most of what Hollywood delivers: Often, family and friends diverge when it comes to politics. What’s also divergent, in my view, is the degree to which actors should dictate governmental policy, and the extent to which they’re trying. But this is the world in which we live. And there is power to be wielded: Georgia is the third biggest market for film and television production (behind only New York and California).

An actor’s job is to convince an audience they’re a character. That seems less effectively done when the personhood of the actor is broadcast more strongly than the person onscreen. There’s an irony, therefore, to people publicizing the real them in order to work at jobs where they’re tasked with making us believe they aren’t them. And the more they show their divisive politics, the more viewers will need them to do so (here).

It’s been said politics and entertainment don’t mix. But somehow, evidently, they must. So must Alec and Stephen Baldwin, who’ve reportedly been distant for years. And since they’re family, I wish them good luck.

What are your thoughts? I want to know.

Oh — and one last thing: This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s threatened to boycott Georgia over politics; see the video section below.

-Alex

See 3 more pieces from me: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Find all my RedState work here.

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