Veteran actor Billy Bob Thornton has taken aim at the celebrity practice of using awards-show stages for political messaging. In a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, the 70-year-old performer said he’s grown weary of acceptance speeches that turn into political soapboxes.
Thornton recalled that he once valued awards when they “were kind of real,” but now sees them as rituals where winners sit through dinner and then use the stage to “pontificate about how awesome they are.”
“If you have a billion dollars, and you want to save the badgers, f-ing save them,” he said, arguing that activism done from a wealthy platform shouldn’t depend on a televised moment.
He added that winners should use their time on stage — not to lecture the public — but to thank the people who gave them the award. He dismissed political speeches at ceremony dinners as out of place.
Thornton’s comments reflect a broader sentiment among some Hollywood figures who believe award ceremonies should focus on craft, recognition and celebration — rather than activism and politics.
