I love Prince. The artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince has always been one of my favorites. With his tiny frame, his soft features, high heels, and eccentric personal style, he had no right to ooze as much male sexuality as he did, and yet…he did. He was a man who learned to work with what he had. He was a man who understood exactly what he had to offer and dared people to reject him. He was a man who mastered his craft and owned his choices. He was a man who was supremely confident in his value to his audience.
When his record label bilked him out of millions of dollars in royalties by claiming they owned everything he did under the moniker “Prince,” the pint-sized pop star gave them the middle finger and changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol. He told them they could pretend his success was in his name, but he would prove to them his success was in his talent. He could perform under the most ridiculous “name” imaginable and still dole out hits and sell tickets. That’s exactly what he did, and eventually, he won the right to use his name once again. It didn’t matter. He could be Prince or a symbol or whatever. In the end, the man delivered what audiences wanted to hear and he was rewarded handsomely for it.
Chris Pratt is an actor who has found the same type of path, albeit without the platform heels and ruffle shirts. Pratt has learned the hard way about the fickleness of fandom and Hollywood. At one time, not that long ago, his face was everywhere. He seemed to be working nonstop. He went from being the adorably dumb but lovable “Andy” on Parks and Recreation to America’s boyfriend, almost overnight. He traded in his dad bod for a Hollywood physique, starred in not just one but two blockbuster franchises, and became a public symbol for the kind of guy Americans really want to believe their favorite stars are like.
How does that saying go?
You either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.
As cancel culture and woke culture merged to create the type of toxic atmosphere that got Gina Carano fired for referring to the Holocaust as a bad thing, Pratt went from hero to hated. He was too open about his faith. You can be anything you want in Hollywood — a pretend girl, a rapist, a scientologist who believes we’re all just volcanic souls in skin suits…you can be anything. But you can’t be a Christian, and Pratt is an unapologetic follower of Christ.
He’s never taken any political stands or posted about social justice. He’s never been involved in a controversy over any controversial subject. He’s never done anything personally to bear the wrath of cancel culture, but just being associated with Jesus these days puts one on the hit list. Pratt committed the ultimate sins of being a follower of the One who forgives sin and not loudly declaring his ideological loyalty to the left.
So it’s no surprise that his most recent project at Amazon, The Terminal List, has come under fire. It’s a straightforward tale of macho revenge — bad guys do bad things to a man’s loved ones, man kills bad guys. There is no woke messaging, no casting stunts, and no plot-halting lectures to the audience about their voting habits.
The left hates it and the critiques have reflected that. Even still, Pratt’s project is winning the ratings and the viewers and he has remained stubbornly proud of the fact. As he should.
It reminds me of an interview with Prince that I once saw. He was giving a press conference to launch a tour with his latest band. It was well into the late 90s, maybe even early 2000s. After ruling the charts across nearly two decades, it had been a long time since he’d had a number one hit. A reporter asked him if he felt any pressure to post another number one hit after so long. He replied with a sly smile behind his cool shades.
“I’m number one at the bank.”
Industry-types may be slaves to fame. They may see public accolades and critical acclaim as the most important commodity, but a guy like Chris Pratt doesn’t need to live his life handcuffed to public clout.
He’s number one at the bank, and everyone else can deal with it.
