James Woods, who has been vocally pro-Donald Trump, is speaking out against the “distasteful” comments made about Rob Reiner.
Woods, who starred in Reiner’s “Ghosts of Mississippi” in 1996, opened up about his late friend during an appearance on Fox News on Monday night, revealing that he was at a low point and landing that job turned it around.
“Rob literally saved my career and really put me back on track in a way that was so important and rewarding in my life. He really fought for me when a studio didn’t want me in a movie,” Woods said. “I went from really being basically out of a job to getting an Academy Award nomination and I give all the credit to Rob.”
Getting choked up multiple times during the interview with Jesse Watters, Woods explained that friends would often ask him how he could be friends with the director, despite their opposing political views; Reiner was a liberal activist, while Woods has been outspoken about supporting Trump.
“I judge people by how they treat me, and Rob Reiner was a Godsend in my life. We got along great, we loved each other… He was always on my side,” Woods said. “When people would say to me, ‘What do you think of his politics?’ I would say, ‘I think Rob Reiner is a great patriot. Do I agree on many of his ideas on how that patriotism should be enacted, to celebrate the America that we both love? No. He doesn’t agree with me either, but he also respects my patriotism. We had a different path to the same destination, which was a country we both love.”
He added, “Because you disagree with people doesn’t mean that you have to hate people.”
After noting that Reiner was “a real thinker” and “a lot of people just don’t think anymore,” Woods brought up how Reiner spoke about Charlie Kirk after he was assassinated in September. (In his last interview, Reiner was asked about Kirk’s death, and he called it “horrible,” adding, “I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That’s not acceptable. That’s not a solution to solving problems.”)
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“I knew Charlie Kirk, I supported him… people said some such horrible things, and Rob did not,” Woods said on Monday night. “When people say horrible things about Rob right now, I find it, quite frankly, infuriating and distasteful. Did I agree with his politics? I did not. Did I love him as I friend, as an artist, as an icon of Hollywood, and as a patriot? I most certainly did, and I am just absolutely devastated.”
Reiner and his wife, Michele Reiner, were murdered on Sunday, December 14, in their home in Brentwood, California. Following the deaths, Trump posted on TruthSocial that the director “passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
In a press conference later that day, he added, “I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned. … I thought he was very bad for our country.”
Watch Woods’ segment below:
From Variety US