Let me start by saying that Alan Ritchson has not said anything to say either way what his political affiliation is. That hasn’t stopped Republican fans of Reacher from getting furious over the fact that Ritchson wore a shirt in support of Black Lives Matter and justice for Breonna Taylor.
Some replies about Ritchson and his political views from the angry fans of the show include calling him names I won’t be repeating, as well as one saying “how is a cuck playing a badass…” Instead of being normal about this, they’ve clearly shown that their ability to enjoy a TV show is completely connected to whether the lead actor shares their politics. It is the lib-piling of Yellowstone all over again.
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It all stemmed from a 2020 picture of Ritchson resurfacing. Since then, right-wing Reacher fans have begun to hate that their hero might not share their views.
For them, the confusion seems to stem from Ritchson often posting about his religion. While he has shared bible verses and talked about his Christianity, he has also posted things that condemn the White Nationalist ideals of Christianity and has pushed back in other ways. Still, he has not said one way or another which side of the political spectrum he falls on.
It is, however, enough for right-wing fans of Reacher to be angry that he supports the Black Lives Matter movement. In fact, he has posted about it multiple times! Even writing “It’s all so broken. Let’s reimagine how we police and govern ourselves. Let’s divert funds away from the Bob Kross’s of the world and give it to social workers without a history of violence towards people of color. Let’s end qualified immunity so we can keep murderers in check.”
Clearly, they just didn’t want to look into Ritchson outside of Reacher, and now they’re angry at him. For what? For standing against racism? For suggesting that police shouldn’t be completely unaccountable or the answer to everything?
Maybe they’re confused since Ritchson comes from a military family and does often talk about religion. Still, the fact that they cannot wrap their head around a man playing Jack Reacher who isn’t their idea of right-wing perfection is … well, a choice. Did they just really want to rally behind Tom Cruise before this? I don’t understand.
Beyond their sudden turn on their boy, it is truly a fascinating thing to behold that the right-wing “fans” of Reacher are that flabbergasted by someone as jacked as Ritchson being able to play Jack Reacher while also supporting causes like BLM. Anyway, I knew Gloss from Catching Fire wouldn’t be their new IT boy.
(featured image: Prime Video)
