Christopher Moltisanti might have been the criminal nephew of mob boss Tony Soprano on the hit series The Sopranos but star Michael Imperioli is making it clear he’s more discerning in who he wants enjoying his work—and that audience doesn’t include any bigots. Italians, sometimes we rule!
Imperioli recently called out the homophobes and bigots of the world, posting a message to his Instagram account reading: “I’ve decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching The Sopranos, The White Lotus, Goodfellas or any movie or tv show I’ve been in. Thank you Supreme Court for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don’t agree with and am opposed to. USA! USA!”
The tongue-in-cheek message came after the recent Supreme Court decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, which made it legal for a business to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation (whether or not any actual customer even exists). Imperioli was clearly impassioned by the ruling that one can discriminate against another to make it clear that those homophobic individuals in question cannot enjoy his work. That’s what the Supreme Court of the United States wants, after all!
The post has since been deleted because I guess angry homophobes were outraged that Imperioli told them to f**k off but hey, that’s the point! Imperioli posted a follow-up explaining his original post, which has also since been deleted.
“The post referred to here was a satirical and symbolic take on where blatantly discriminatory Supreme Court decisions are taking us as a nation: into utter division and possibly far worse,” he wrote on July 4. “I believe in religious freedom, freedom of speech and the right for individuals to pursue happiness. I also believe in the separation of Church and state, as stated in the First Amendment.”
He continued: “I believe that all people, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, gender or sexuality, are entitled to freedom, equality, rights and protection under the laws of our nation, and I vehemently oppose hate, prejudice and bigotry – and always have.
“Some people have not gotten the irony,” he concluded. “I thought I’d be more explicit.”
Imperioli is always great
Growing up, my family watched both Goodfellas and The Sopranos. Call us stereotypes but hey, it’s the only life I knew. I frankly think a lot of people take away the wrong message from a show like The Sopranos, which centers its Italian mob boss in the midst of his struggle with panic attacks and anxiety and his journey to fixing himself through therapy. It is very much playing against the stereotypes placed on Italians, while working within a genre that can so often be rooted in those very stereotypes and tropes. It ruled when it was released and still rules today.
Imperioli’s Christopher just happened to be the best part and it is funny to see how a show like The Sopranos can make the homophobes so angry that Christopher told them to, again, f**k off. I think it is silly that Imperioli had to say anything else on this but at least his follow-up was still just as angry and annoyed as his first. That’s why I will always remain a Michael Imperioli stan.
(featured image: HBO)
