Glen Powell has joined the ranks of celebrities who avoid politics, lest there be blowback on his career. In a recent interview with Esquire, the actor recalled how he was impacted by his parents never bringing up current events at the kitchen table.
“Over time, I realized that politics divide people,” he told the magazine. “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.”
As a result, Powell said that he believes genuinely engaging with politics is “not presently possible,” adding, “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.”
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This past June, Dwayne Johnson also told Esquire that he is “going to keep my politics to myself,” while Jennifer Lawrence told The New York Times last year that she has changed course from being outspoken against Trump during his first administration because she didn’t “want to start turning people off to films and to art” due to her political opinions.
More recently, Ed Sheeran expressed similar thoughts while addressing Macklemore’s departure from his tour following pressure from stadium owners to remove the rapper for his onstage support for Palestine.
“I have my personal views on this devastating conflict,” Sheeran said of his views on Israel’s war on Palestine. “Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care. Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own, personal way.”
He continued, “There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics — my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum… I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed. If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change. There are different approaches to being an advocate for change.”