(FW) – Former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar thinks conservative celebrities like James Woods or Jon Voight should not have the right to voice their opinions in the public square and has called on social media companies to silence them.
In an op-ed published by The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, Abdul-Jabbar wrote that these conservative celebrities should be censored and even thrown off platforms, accusing them of causing “harm to society.” “No matter their previous achievements, celebrities deserve legacy-killing backlash when they spread ignorance,” he argues.
“Great success in one field can lead to the delusion that all your thoughts are great.” “Few are more beloved than J.K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter books make up the best-selling series in history. Yet her anti-trans tweets may not only damage the Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchises, they could end up tainting her entire literary legacy,” Abdul-Jabbar said.
“Even the stars of the movies — Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Eddie Redmayne — have spoken out against her position. John Cleese’s tone-deaf defense of Rowling left many fans bitterly disappointed, tarnishing his reputation.”
With his outspoken demands, Abdul-Jabbar contends that being outspoken harms the foundation of society. “It would be tempting to dismiss this self-mutilation as merely the triggering of overly sensitive ‘cancel culture.’ But some of this public braying does immediate harm to the foundation of society,” he wrote. READ MORE
