I’ve previously written about how celebrities are ruining Twitter with their political and hate speech. For my last post of 2018, I’ve compiled a special list of Hollywood has-beens who are desperately trying to remain relevant despite Hollywood careers that are well beyond their expiration dates.
10. Rosie O’Donnell
I guess she’s a celebrity… or was. I don’t know. She’s been in a few movies you’ve probably seen.
The only two that come to mind are Sleepless in Seattle and A League of Their Own… but for sure, she had a briefly successful stint in Hollywood in the 1990s as a comedian/supporting actress who now has only the occasional guest spot on a television series. She had a daytime talk show that only lasted six seasons… but rest assured, she still matters because she’s regularly bashing Trump and the GOP on Twitter! Her tweets are juvenile and unhinged, but that’s the recipe that makes a celebrity matter these days.
blood on trumps hands #impeach https://t.co/74VnYUg3vK
— ROSIE (@Rosie) December 29, 2018
But, between her and Donald Trump, Trump is the one with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And I guess she’s really bitter about that. I couldn’t tell you what she’s been up to with her career these days, but she’s not gonna let us forget that she hates Trump and thinks his inevitable impeachment is approaching.
9. Mark Hamill
I’m not sure if Mark Hamill is a Hollywood has-been, or a Hollywood never-was, because despite having starred in the biggest movie franchise of all time, Mark Hamill’s career has been largely forgettable. He’s been busy in Hollywood, that’s for sure, but his filmography is filled with a wide array of voice work. Chances are you’ve probably heard his voice in some animated TV series without realizing you were listening to the voice of Luke Skywalker. His most recent notable movie appearance was in Star Wars Episode VII: The Last Jedi—which got mostly negative responses from fans. So it’s not particularly surprising that he spends a good portion of his time on Twitter bashing Trump.
Hamill most recently made headlines for declaring on the podcast of WaPo’s Jonathan Capehart that Donald Trump is worse than Darth Vader. “Listen, I really get upset then when people compare [Mr. Trump] or even Dick Cheney to Darth Vader because Darth Vader repented. He saw the error of his ways. I don’t see either one of them doing that.” This is less offensive than comparing Trump to Hitler, but no less moronic.
Worst. Christmas. Movie… EVER. 😩#TrumpShutdown pic.twitter.com/XzE97f1mBj
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 22, 2018
Hamill’s Twitter feed is at least more evenly split between tweets bashing Trump and tweets promoting himself and what he’s up to. Perhaps he should spend more time on the latter. The next Star Wars movie will most certainly be his last in the franchise.
8. Bette Midler
The only wind beneath the wings of Midler’s career at this point comes from Donald Trump. Her most recent significant credits are from the 1990s with The First Wives Club (1996) and Hocus Pocus (1993). As for her career as a singer, when was the last time she had a hit? If you’re aware of anything she’s done recently, it’s her controversial tweet during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, or her tweet last month where she fantasized about Trump and his family being hanged “good and high.” Both these tweets have been deleted, but her Twitter feed is still riddled with anti-Trump rants and links that leave little doubt why she hasn’t done anything noteworthy with her career in some time. She seems to be distracted by the idea that the Mueller investigation will find evidence of Russian collusion. One thing you won’t find in her Twitter feed is any evidence of why she’s even a celebrity in the first place.
7. Alyssa Milano
I know her mostly as Samantha Micelli from Who’s The Boss, but her most recent noteworthy role is from a WB show called Charmed that ended in 2006 after an eight-year run. Based on her IMDB page, she’s had a number of unmemorable roles in movies and shows you probably didn’t watch. This relatively young actress has apparently already passed the prime of her career; her most memorable role in recent years has been that of a low-information activist during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings—a guest of Senator Dianne Feinstein.
I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. pic.twitter.com/vkJ1NYU6pt
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) September 27, 2018
Her Twitter feed is peppered with left-wing rants and retweets… leaving you little doubt as to why the best days of her acting career appear to be over.
6. Rob Reiner
According to IMDB, Rob Reiner is most known for playing Michael Stivic (aka “Meathead”) in All in the Family, a popular sitcom from the 1970s. He went on to direct some great movies like Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, and some others. But, lately, he’s mostly had small acting credits in stuff you’ve probably not seen, and produced/directed movies you probably haven’t heard of. When Rob Reiner makes the news, it’s mostly because of absurd things he says, not because of anything he’s done in Hollywood. He made headlines a couple weeks ago for accusing Trump of treason.
Donald Trump is committing Treason against The United States of America. He is aiding and abetting the enemy in The War against Isis and The Cyberwar against Russia. He has turned the world’s oldest Democracy into a wholly owned subsidiary of Vladimir Putin. GOP, WAKE UP!
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) December 20, 2018
While promoting his most recent flick, called Shock and Awe, it seemed like more time was spent bashing Trump than pumping the movie that I’d bet you haven’t heard of, let alone seen. Once a meathead, always a meathead.
5. Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander struck gold with his supporting role as George Costanza on Seinfeld. He was fantastic in the role and it’s unfortunate he has struggled to find any role to compete with it. Since Seinfeld ended in 1998, he’s had plenty of acting and voice credits, but nothing to write home about. For example, his first leading role in a sitcom was a series called Bob Patterson in which he played the title role; it lasted a mere nine episodes. His only big-screen credit post-Seinfeld that I’ve actually seen was in the movie Shallow Hal with Jack Black. Currently, he’s got a couple of appearances on the sci-fi comedy The Orville—I barely recognized him in the season premiere.
When Alexander isn’t busy trying to add more acting credits to his filmography, he’s on Twitter, occasionally ranting about Donald Trump and spewing left-wing talking points.
You can believe his goals and still deplore his methods. And we criticize all GOP right now because they are in lock-step with him. None of them will address his risk to our security, his corruption, his attacks on our institutions and more than half of American citizens. https://t.co/OzSaLTKHG4
— jason alexander (@IJasonAlexander) October 25, 2018
Alexander should learn a lesson from Seinfeld co-star Jerry Seinfeld, who appears to avoid politics in public. I’ve seen Seinfeld perform a few times, and never heard anything political come out of him. I spent several minutes scrolling through his Twitter feed and found nothing about Trump. I don’t doubt Jerry Seinfeld is a liberal, but he knows better than to alienate his audience. Sure, he had Barack Obama on his show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, despite the fact Obama was neither a comedian nor funny, but overall, he’s a refreshing voice of restraint in a world that is oversaturated with political messaging from celebrities who just need to shut up. Jason Alexander, however, is not.
4. George Takei
For a man whose celebrity is because of one single character created in the 1960s, George Takei has spent most of his piddling career exploiting that one role and getting small parts here and there. A true has-been, he appeared on the 5th season of The Celebrity Apprentice in 2012, and was fired during the third week. Even though he was willing to appear on the show and compete for Trump’s money, he’s been a vocal anti-Trump activist on Twitter.
Takei uses his anti-Trump activism to promote a website he runs called Second Nexus, which, like Takei, is obsessed with Donald Trump.
What bothered me the most about Takei’s anti-Trumpism was his behavior during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Like Kavanaugh, Takei was recently accused of sexual assault during the 1980s. Like Kavanaugh, Takei denied the assault. But, that didn’t stop Takei from jumping on the #BelieveVictims bandwagon, even as Christine Blasey Ford’s story fell apart. Apparently, only those accusing conservatives of assault are to be believed.
Takei’s glory days as an actor are far behind him, so he’s desperately clinging to relevance as an anti-Trumper.
3. Billy Baldwin
Despite some success in the 1990s with some big hits like Backdraft and Sliver, I can’t find any other notable project he’s received top billing on recently. He only joined Twitter in October 2016, but has tweeted over 11,000 times, and I’d be willing to bet most are unhinged political, anti-Trump, anti-GOP rants and retweets. I only found out he was on Twitter last year when he decided to jump into a non-political discussion to trash my book about Obama. I had some fun with his non-endorsement, and he called me a hack.
For me… the fires, mudslides, evacuations, relocation, shootings, a scary family illness and all the Trump madness made 2018 a year to forget.
Having said that… I’m ready for more Trump ass kicking in the New Year!!2019… the year we get him booted from office.
Who’s in?
— Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) December 31, 2018
He’s grown his Twitter following these past two years largely on his family name and his anti-Trump tweets. By the looks of his Twitter feed, he spends most of his free time obsessing about the president, anxiously awaiting a scandal that will be the silver bullet to bring down Trump’s presidency.
2. Jim Carrey
Once one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, Carrey has since gone completely off the rails, spending more time creating bad art and obsessing about politics. Scrolling down his Twitter profile you’ll be treated to what we can only assume represents the “best” of his work. President George W. Bush has also taken up painting as a hobby, but there’s a huge difference between the work of the former president and the work of the has-been actor. While Bush’s art is friendly, apolitical, and unassuming, Carrey’s art is mostly incendiary and political. One can only assume from Carrey’s art that he is a deeply troubled man, consumed by anger and hate.
Oh how I urine for this all to be over! pic.twitter.com/uzLULtNPLE
— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) June 14, 2018
From what we can see on his Twitter feed, his art isn’t even all that good. Perhaps he saves any actual artistic talent for artwork that isn’t political… if there is any.
1. Kathy Griffin
Another has-been who apparently learned nothing from the severed head incident last year, she’s now redefining herself entirely in the shadow of Donald Trump. Back in October, she started promoting her own line of anti-Trump merchandise on Twitter, including Christmas ornaments—because what says “‘Tis the season to be jolly” like an ornament that reads “F–k Trump”? Apparently, Griffin has gone from “Trump broke me” to trying not to be broke by capitalizing on Trump hate.
More recently, she responded to a Trump tweet with this intellectual gem of a response.
Just shut the fuck up and prepare for prison https://t.co/Qs9p4flcby
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 27, 2018
Aside from being a foul-mouthed anti-Trumper, Griffin is most known for a supporting roll on the 1990s sitcom Suddenly Susan. She’s been desperately trying to reinvent herself as a victim of Trump, apparently having never realized she was never a funny comedienne to begin with.
_____
Matt Margolis is the author of the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. His new book, Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy, will be published in 2019. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
Join the conversation as a VIP Member