Chris Pratt criticised for “banal” op-ed on US election

Chris Pratt is facing some backlash online after sharing a piece about today’s US election in which he talks about how he can “see things from both sides”.

• READ MORE: Taylor Swift shares “friendly but extremely important reminder” for US fans to vote in presidential election

In the op-ed, published on his mother-in-law Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, Pratt writes: “I understand that people’s lives and rights are on the line. I also see that there are millions of people who feel overlooked and invisible to our government and are desperate for something to change.”

He continues: “I’m trying to make sense of the election through the eyes of Americans on both sides. I’ve been thinking a lot about where we’ll be as a nation on November 6th, how we can attempt to move forward after so much division,” before recounting his experiences with sport in his youth, and using being on a losing team in sport as metaphor for the election itself.

“I love this country,” he writes. “I’m looking for ways to stay connected to my fellow Americans. I also think there are millions out there like me looking to do the same—to find a way to come together after the election, no matter who wins or loses.

“It’s OK to take a moment to lick your wounds when you lose. Heck, go ahead and cry in the mirror. But if we become too paralysed by defeat or too pompous in victory, allegiance to our “team” can blind us to the fact that we are fellow countrymen.”

Fans have suspected that Pratt held right-wing views in the past because of his publicly voiced Christian beliefs and advocacy for the military, but the Guardians Of The Galaxy star has never confirmed whether he leans towards either side of the political spectrum.

Some took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their disappointment at the op-ed, with one user writing: “I’m upset that the face of my favorite films and my favorite character decided to play “both sides” on an election that decides my future as a human being with rights.”

My life is at stake, the bodily autonomy of my fellow trans siblings and people who can get pregnant in general, of black people and immigrants, of anyone who disagrees with Trump’s policies, and watching Chris Pratt say “I see both sides” and “it’s not about who wins and loses”

— Guardians of the Galaxy Archive (@gotgarchive) November 3, 2024

I guess your idea of “great” differs from mine. Pratt is trying to make it seem like this is any other election. Like Obama vs Romney, for instance. But it’s actually the most critical election of my lifetime. What we do in this moment, over the next 24 hours, matters very much.

— Lisa Bee (@leebee4life) November 4, 2024

In their coverage of the piece, The Daily Beast described Pratt’s thoughts as “banal”.

This comes after some of Pratt’s Marvel co-stars – including Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. – reunited for a video endorsing Kamala Harris, and encouraging Americans to “#VoteBlue”.

Both Shriver and her husband, Pratt’s father-in-law, Arnold Schwarzenegger, have also shared their support for Harris, despite the latter being a former Republican governor. Schwarzenegger posted a statement on X, writing that if Donald Trump is re-elected, “it will just be four more years of bullshit with no results that makes us angrier and angrier, more divided, and more hateful. We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former President Trump won’t do that.”

The post Chris Pratt criticised for “banal” op-ed on US election appeared first on NME.