In certain settings, political discussion is a lot like a wasp. You see it, you're wary of it, but you pretend it's not there in hopes that if you just leave it alone, it'll do you the same courtesy, and you won't end up with a stinger in your neck.
And for a long time, that's exactly how politics was handled in polite settings, but thanks to the modern era, you now have a bunch of neon-haired, septum-pierced lunatics waving the proverbial wasp toward you. You're going to get stung, and how you react to said stinging will show you which side you're on. Should you run from the wasp, it just proves you're a horrible person who should be canceled and lose everything you've ever worked for.
You saw it happen recently to Ed Sheeran, who refused to make his concerts political and thus was turned into a social target for the Left until he was forced to make a statement to try to get the heat off his back. A statement I'm not even sure he 100 percent believes.
But it's not stopping there. Now Glen Powell ("Top Gun: Maverick," "Anyone But You") is in the crosshairs for doing the exact same thing Sheeran did, and that's to not comment about anything political.
According to Esquire, Powell says he avoids the discourse because the discourse, frankly, sucks:
Politics interests him even less now. “Over time,” he says, “I realized that politics divide people. People trying to prove their point—for me, it’s the worst version of a conversation. I genuinely do not like the discourse. It’s not as healthy as it once was.”
Engaging, then, for him is “not presently possible,” he says. “I applaud people for jumping into those things and fighting for what they believe in. If I were a political person, I would be talking about it. For me, my calling is elsewhere.”
In a sensible time, this would be pure wisdom. It was the wisdom of Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton. It was the wisdom of Michael Jordan.
Republicans buy shoes, too. They also watch movies and television. Many a breakout star ruined their career because they got too political and alienated half of their fanbase. Powell clearly doesn't want to make that mistake.
But the Left wants to force him to make it. I know that because Variety, which I think is the most biased rag soaked in the blood of Hollywood, made it a point to extract that singular part out of the Esquire article, write their own piece on it, then make it a central talking point on social media.
Glen Powell is staying quiet on politics in interviews because "over time I realized that politics divide people." "People trying to prove their point — for me, it’s the worst version of a conversation. I genuinely do not like the discourse. It’s not as healthy as it once was. [Engaging in politics] is not presently possible. I applaud people for jumping into those things and fighting for what they believe in. If I were a political person, I would be talking about it. For me, my calling is elsewhere.” (via Esquire) https://t.co/MRtoVXQJ0K
— Variety (@Variety) October 7, 2026
I'd like to tell you that Variety's neutral reporting here removes any suspicions of ill intent, but let's face facts. Variety's readers are primarily leftist, and they know exactly what will happen if they report a celebrity's desire to stay out of political discourse. The Left will begin attacking him relentlessly with accusations of secretly being a Republican or MAGA, or — horror of horrors — not that interested in what's going on in "Palestine"... or whatever the cause du jour is.
If they can get enough of a mob going, then maybe it will spook some execs or producers, and they'll tell Powell he's become too hot to touch, forcing Powell to bend the knee and allow himself to become the latest puppet through which the mob can speak. There can be no abstaining. Silence is violence! Also, it would really suck if people started seeing art and entertainment as something that can be anything other than political.
Sure enough, the responses to the Variety post on X prove Powell's point and show you just how toxic things can get for the silent. The accusations of being right-wing are flooding in; he's being called a coward or accused of "standing for nothing." Hopefully, it won't get any bigger than this for Powell. I actually like the guy both on and off screen, and I'd like to see him in more movies. I'd also like to enjoy them without the nagging understanding that he's the sort that would actually hate my guts because of my own positions and opinions.
I mean, he probably doesn't. His family worked with the Reagan administration, but who knows?
The point is that the Left has found out how to hold struggle sessions without torture, and without having to gather a massive crowd in one location. They can just do it online. The accusations and finger-pointing can be done at an ever-wider scale now, and the torture now comes in the form of 24-hour online posting with your own face and name being dragged through every puddle of social mud they can find. Once they confess their loyalty to the cause, they'll be put on probation.
Of course, this proves Powell's point. The discourse in this country is crap, and even though I'm paid to do it online, in my own personal life, I tend not to talk about politics anymore with anyone.
