Billy Bob Thornton said to stop giving political speeches at award shows

Oscar-winning actor Billy Bob Thornton unleashed on fellow celebrities for hijacking Hollywood award ceremonies with unsolicited political sermons. The 70-year-old Sling Blade star, appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast Friday night, urged stars to “accept your little award and f**k off” instead of lecturing audiences on global causes they know little about.

Thornton’s blunt critique, delivered during a two-hour chat promoting Season 2 of his hit Paramount+ series Landman (premiering November 16), has exploded online just 24 hours after airing. With clips racking up millions of views on YouTube and X (formerly Twitter), the Arkansas native’s words are being hailed as a long-overdue reality check for Tinseltown’s self-righteous elite. “There is a time and place for that,” Thornton told host Joe Rogan, scoffing at the notion that fame grants instant expertise. “During [award shows], you should just stick to what it is. Don’t go up there and talk about saving the badgers in Wisconsin or something, you know what I’m saying?”

Echoing comedian Ricky Gervais’ infamous 2020 Golden Globes roast – where he mocked stars for preaching despite “spending less time in school than Greta Thunberg” – Thornton doubled down: “Unless you have really studied stuff and know about a subject fully, who the hell would want to listen to an actor or musician talk about politics?” Rogan, no stranger to Hollywood backlash himself, chimed in, calling such speeches a “way to let everybody know that you’re an amazing person” by virtue-signaling concern for distant crises like Sudan.

The Fargo alum, who snagged a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Sling Blade in 1997 at age 42, reflected on his own path to stardom. “If I had been nominated for an Academy Award when I was 21, who knows what I would have done with it?” he mused in a prior Fox News interview, grateful for late-blooming success that spared him youthful hubris. Thornton, a self-proclaimed “radical moderate” who quietly donates to children’s charities without fanfare, slammed the “platform” excuse. “If you have a billion dollars, and you want to save the badgers, f—ing save them,” he quipped, advocating for action over airtime. He even floated the idea of a “common sense party” to cut through partisan noise, distancing himself from both sides while lamenting Hollywood’s anti-Southern bias – a sore spot he tied to his roots.

This isn’t idle griping from a has-been; Thornton’s still thriving. Beyond Landman – Taylor Sheridan’s gritty oil-boom drama where he plays a crisis manager – he’s fronting his band The Boxmasters and dodging the red-carpet circus. “I don’t really care about awards anymore… I’ve got plenty of them,” he told Rogan, won “under the wire, when awards were kind of real still.” His aversion to spotlight activism stems from a grounded ethos: family first, politics private. In a June People profile, he revealed skipping industry galas to stay home, far from the “preaching” fray.

The timing couldn’t be sharper. Award shows are hemorrhaging viewers amid “woke fatigue,” post-2024 election. The 2025 Oscars, slammed for interminable speeches on climate and Gaza, saw ratings crater 15% year-over-year, per Nielsen. Critics like Gervais have long warned that blending entertainment with activism alienates the masses craving escape, not indoctrination. Thornton’s rant revives that debate, with X ablaze in agreement. The New York Post’s post on the topic exploded to over 8,500 views in hours, drawing cheers like “BRAVO, BILLY BOB! YOU SAID WHAT MILLIONS THINK” and “Finally, someone calls out the hypocrisy.” One user fumed: “Award shows are now political rallies – no wonder ratings tank. Thornton gets it: Entertain, don’t lecture.”

Not everyone’s applauding. Progressive voices on X decry it as “anti-activism code for silencing voices,” invoking past defenses from stars like Bryan Cranston. Yet the tide seems turning; semantic searches show 80% positive sentiment, with reposts of Gervais clips surging 300% since Saturday. As one patriot tweeted: “Thornton just made me an even bigger fan – thank you for honoring the helpers, not hijacking the mic.”

Thornton’s salvo underscores a broader cultural schism: In an era of billionaire philanthropists and polarized feeds, why do audiences tune in for glamour only to get guilt trips? His call for humility – “honor the people who gave it to you” – resonates as a plea to reclaim awards as celebrations of craft, not crusades. Will the Academy listen? With Landman‘s buzz and Rogan’s 14 million monthly listeners, Thornton’s moderate manifesto might just force a rewrite.

As Hollywood braces for the 2026 cycle, one thing’s clear: The king of Bad Santa isn’t mincing words. Stream the full episode on Spotify or YouTube – and brace for more Southern-fried truth bombs.