In the above video, Jim Carrey delivers a five-minute speech on forgiveness and faith, which he sees as key for ex-convicts to reintegrate into society. The missive, which was actually recorded in June on behalf of Homeboy Industries, has now gone viral, thereby scoring over 488,000 views for the cause. According to the charity’s website, Homeboy Industries successfully helps men and women reenter the workforce with job training and various services including anger management and tattoo removal.
Carrey, who once dated Scientologist Cathriona White (and was later sued by her husband after her 2015 suicide — the lawsuit did not stand), recently told 60 Minutes, “I’m a Buddhist, I’m a Muslim, I’m a Christian.” While he didn’t want to tie himself to any particular religion at the time, the religious right has embraced him for this speech, which reads in part as follows:
“You are heroes to me, and I admire you. When you stepped through these doors, you decided to be a part of this family. You made a decision to transcend and to leave darkness behind, and it takes a champion to make that decision … Ultimately, I believe that suffering leads to salvation. In fact, it’s the only way. We have to somehow accept, not deny, but feel our suffering and feel our losses. And then we make one of two decisions: We either decide to go through the gate of resentment, which leads to vengeance, which leads to self-harm, which leads to harm to others. Or we go through the gate of forgiveness, which leads to grace.”
As a result, Carrey has scored a major fan in former Alaskan Governor and reality star Sarah Palin, who tweeted her enthusiasm.
AMAZING. https://t.co/Yk7c6w87rS
— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) July 24, 2017
In addition, the Young Conservatives website has praised the actor for his “amazing God-centered speech on the transformative power of suffering.” Indeed, Carrey told 60 Minutes that he’s been through a lot in the past few years, which includes White’s suicide, all while he struggled to wean himself off Prozac. And it seems that whatever he’s doing is working, and he’s found an enthused audience in the religious right.
(Via Homeboy Industries, The Blaze, CBS News & Young Conservatives)