Opinion | The author's opinion does not necessarily reflect Sarah Palin's view.
Former “Sopranos” star Drea de Matteo voiced her disappointment over celebrities who jokingly commented on the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump, which occurred during a campaign event.
She expressed dismay at the lack of compassion and peace from those on the left, highlighting the reactions to the incident as indicative of a troubling cultural shift.
“Everybody has their right to their opinion, and they have freedom of speech, so here we are,” Matteo said.
“But, again, I’m a liberal. I am a liberal who does not understand how the left has become so rebellious, with not one undertone of peace, love, harmony and compassion. You’re supposed to be the party of inclusivity, of love, of peace. And all of a sudden, these are the rioters. These are the mean-spirited folks out there. And I don’t understand that.”
“To hear a portion of America be on board with death,” she said. “And that I don’t understand.”
“Of course it’s hateful rhetoric, but I do think that it goes way deeper than that,” Matteo said.
While she once identified with “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” de Matteo stated that her views changed after doing research and reflecting on political issues, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She now supports Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. De Matteo believes many in Hollywood are silently supportive of Trump but fear expressing their views.
“Say what you want about Trump, and I understand that a lot of people have Trump Derangement Syndrome,” she said. “I was one of them. But people can change. And it’s not that Trump changed, I changed. And I did my research, and I paid more attention to what was going on.”
“I definitely feel like a lot more truth is going to be on the conservative side right now,” she added. “Because they want to conserve this country, and rightly so.”
“[In the] Sopranos… even though we were critically acclaimed, we were the outcasts. I’m still an outcast. Here I am, they’re going to take me into the woods and shoot me for not endorsing Biden,” she said.
“And all these celebrities going crazy destroying Trump’s character, I think it’s time for all these people to ask themselves why they’re so filled with rage?” Matteo said.
“It’s sad for me to watch a lot of people still live in that sort of fear,” she said. “Because in the next six months, it’s not going to matter what side you’re on anymore … I think that the whole question of humanity, and the country’s karma, I think that’s really going to be the thing that’s going to either make or break us right now.”
She emphasized the need for unity and understanding rather than partisanship, remarking that societal harmony and the country’s future are at stake.
Additionally, she mentioned her focus on social issues through her clothing brand, Ultrafree, rather than pursuing traditional acting roles.
“I don’t care about working in Hollywood anymore,” she said. “I’d rather just talk about this and help more people to recognize that if you’re only going to vote about social issues like abortion, they’re missing the point. And that’s coming from a diehard liberal.”
