Popular actor Rainn Wilson believes there’s an “anti-Christian bias in Hollywood,” and his tweet saying as much over the weekend garnered tens of thousands of reactions.
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The notable response took form after “The Office” star commented on the post-apocalyptic drama “The Last of Us,” describing a recent episode featuring a character who read from the Bible.
“I do think there is an anti-Christian bias in Hollywood,” Wilson said. “As soon as the David character in ‘The Last of Us’ started reading from the Bible, I knew that he was going to be a horrific villain.”
The actor continued, “Could there be a Bible-reading preacher on a show who is actually loving and kind?”
I do think there is an anti-Christian bias in Hollywood. As soon as the David character in “The Last of Us”
started reading from the Bible I knew that he was going to be a horrific villain. Could there be a Bible-reading preacher on a show who is actually loving and kind?— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) March 11, 2023
The scene in question deals with a group of cannibals led by an individual who appeared to be a preacher. These people-eaters were purportedly portrayed as justifying horrific actions by appealing to Scripture. The preacher is also later depicted attempting to rape a woman, Fox News reported.
Wilson’s tweet sparked an immediate reaction, with many noting Christians have openly decried this bias in Hollywood for decades.
“I [love] this tweet my fellow ‘My Super Ex Girlfriend’ cast-mate & agree with you wholeheartedly,” actor Stelio Savante wrote. “But unfortunately, Christophobia & Christophobic sentiment are alive & well in our industry.”
Writer Sean Kernan added he tends to “lean left,” but that “The Last of Us” left him rolling his eyes.
“I lean left but Last of Us still made me roll my eyes quite a few times with its Hollywood nonsense,” he tweeted. “Had to stop watching.”
Others postulated perhaps Hollywood simply doesn’t know how to portray Christians in a positive light.
Another user named Isaac Goodwin said seeing true Christianity depicted on screen would benefit everyone.
“Hollywood just doesn’t know how to portray a genuine Christ follower,” he tweeted. “Any born-again Christian knows David was not a true Christian.”
Goodwin added, “I agree it would be edifying for people, including non-believers, to see true followers of Christ for a change, though. Almost every portrayal is antichrist and not how most followers of Christ truly live.”
Others, though, took a different tone. Twitter account @socialistlyakwd proclaimed, “Christians have used their religion to take away women’s autonomy.” She then added her contention believers are “fighting to dismantle libraries and stop healthcare for trans people.”
“They invoke their god while they do it, but you’d like us to feature a kindly preacher in a tv series,” @socialistlyakwd continued. “To what end? This feels very tone-deaf to those of us who live in heavily red states.”
You can read the comments here.
Wilson is hardly the first person in Hollywood to notice how Christians are often framed and treated on TV and in movies. Lucas Black, a Christian actor who starred in the popular series “NCIS: New Orleans” before leaving the show in 2019, said working on the hit show was “the biggest eye-opener.”
“There’s a definite agenda to attack some of my beliefs and, you know, some of your beliefs as a Christian,” Black told “The Prodigal Stories Podcast” of his experience. “I learned a lot about people’s hearts, where they were coming from.”
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