In 1972, Elvis Presley was giving a press conference in New York when a journalist asked him to comment on politics. Elvis saw the bait and wasn't about to bite. He knew he had fans of all stripes, belief systems, and opinions, and he wasn't about to alienate any of them with his personal politics. He was both a businessman and, more importantly, an entertainer. He knew what his lane was, and he wasn't about to jump the median to venture into territory where he had no business being.
He shut the question down kindly, as was his way.
NBA legend Michael Jordan, in the same vein, also refused to comment on politics, famously retorting to a question about why he didn't endorse a Democrat running against a Republican with "Republicans buy sneakers, too."
These are two responses that had a lot of wisdom behind them. Both Elvis and Jordan knew what they were, and more importantly, what they weren't. They knew that they had businesses and brands to see to, both of which had created careers that relied on those brands being healthy and stable, and that all it would take to poison that well is one expression of a political opinion. They knew that if they did say something, division would soon follow, and business would suffer. Income would be reduced, people would lose jobs, and it would become a part of their everlasting legacy.
The opinion wasn't worth it. It very rarely ever is.
That kind of wisdom got lost somewhere along the course of time, as anyone with a spotlight on them almost felt compelled to give their opinion, almost as if they were duty-bound to do so. The idea of having a platform and not "using it for good," with "good" being subjective to one's personal politics, was frowned upon by the glitterati.
Enter two actresses who took that to heart and refused to keep their mouths shut, and as a result, watched their careers crash and burn as a result.
One is the infamous Brie Larson, and the other is Rachel Zegler.
Anyone who follows my writing knows their stories. Brie Larson was cast as Captain Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and before her movie, Captain Marvel, debuted, she was proving to be an insufferable mess of anti-male sexism dressed as empowering feminism and social justice stances. She was so annoying that her following appearances in the Marvel universe were often accompanied by groans, and her final movie, The Marvels, bombed hard.
Read: Brie Larson Is Giving Me Every Reason to Believe "Captain Marvel" Is Going to Suck
Even then, I knew what was going to happen to the MCU just based on their all-in attitude with Larson. The MCU would go woke, then it would subsequently go broke, and I was right. That's not me bragging about my ability to see insight where others don't, it's just me reading patterns, and that pattern was more than apparent in 2019.
After her own mouth caused her career to tank, Larson would go on to try to resurrect her career independently by being a YouTuber, and while that would see some success, it did nothing to resurrect her presence on the big stage. For all intents and purposes, Larson's career was done.
Or was it?
Before we continue with Larson, let's shift our focus to the other actress, Zegler, who also took the same path Larson did. Her mouth was writing checks Disney couldn't cash, and as she insulted and divided people in every interview and social media post, the Snow White remake she was starring in looked more and more bleak. Its success looked like a dream the Disney bean counters' hearts made, but no matter how much they kept on believing, the dream that they wished wasn't coming true.
The movie was awful in its own right, but at the heart of the infection was Zegler. A woman so unlikeable, divisive, and unpleasant that more or less everything she touched had a reverse-Midas effect. Telling you what her work turned into isn't for polite company.
Now, both of these women had their careers damaged enough that they became too toxic to touch for a time, but both women were offered chances to get back into the spotlight, and this is where things get interesting.
Zegler's comeback, which is certainly an industry-plant scenario, has been horrible since it's clear she's learned absolutely nothing. As That Park Place reported, Zegler has only leaned in to the self-victimization and identity politics that burned her career in the first place:
“I was told I wasn’t enough of one thing for West Side Story and too much of another for Snow White,” she said. “It was a really confusing time to be in my early twenties and hearing that. I grew up proud of being Colombian – eating the food, wearing the dresses, drinking the coffee, doing all the things that were so intrinsic to who I was as a kid and who I am as an adult – but I do think there’s an argument to be made that in the public eye at least, when you’re two things, you’re simultaneously nothing. But I refuse to assimilate for anybody else’s comfort.”
In other words, we're all racist for not just immediately accepting her in the roles she was cast, despite there being issues with the DEI-based reasons for her casting.
But, as for Larson, she's taking a different path. One where she seems to have learned her lesson and understands that, at the end of the day, her personal politics aren't good for her business, her brand, or her personal life, and she's wisely kept them to herself.
As That Park Place reported back in February of 2025, a reporter tried to bait Larson into getting political and calling male viewers sexist and misogynistic, to which Larson shut it down multiple times before she finally made it clear she wasn't taking the bait:
“I don’t think there is a way for me to answer that without it becoming a problem for me,” she said, once more refusing to take the bait and stir up even more controversy around her image.
It was a moment that surprised a lot of people and garnered her some respect from people who previously had nothing good to say about her. Since then, Larson has been on something of a redemption arc, being cast as Rosalina in the upcoming Mario sequel, and, funny enough, she seems far more genuine and approachable than she used to.
Seems like Brie Larson is doing the work. pic.twitter.com/gmdgA00Knm
— Jonas J. Campbell (@JonasJCampbell) March 10, 2026
As I commented on X, I like this Brie. When she's not being a self-indulgent political hack and she's not pushing division on an audience that doesn't deserve her ire, she's actually charming and has demonstrated having decent acting chops before the fiasco she put herself in.
I want Larson to make a comeback under this new understanding she seems to have, not just because I want to like her as an actress, but because I want her to set an example for others in the entertainment industry. Honey over vinegar. Keep your personal beliefs to yourself and let people enjoy themselves without having to worry about you finger-wagging at them the next time you get a microphone in front of you.
Be like Elvis. The spotlight is on you for one reason; don't use it for another.
