Even in these divisive political times, the cast of The Walking Dead has managed through its first seven seasons to mostly stay out of the political spotlight. The cast has been very good about expressing sympathies, where appropriate, but they don’t often weigh in on controversial matters.
The same is not necessarily true of relatively recent addition, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who forcefully took Donald Trump to task in August over the President’s Charlottesville remarks.
@realDonaldTrump FUCK YOU. Seriously. Fuck you for everything. Today? Fuck you for making us have to explain racism to our children.
— Jeffrey Dean Morgan (@JDMorgan) August 15, 2017
Now the actor, who plays Negan on The Walking Dead, has provoked reaction among The Walking Dead fans by wearing a t-shirt supporting Blue Lives Matter, a cause that rose in response to the Black Lives Matter movement after two Brooklyn police officers were killed in 2014. Blue Lives Matter, however, is controversial because many believe that it diminishes or erases the valid issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement.
The t-shirt provoked considerable outcry from The Walking Dead fans on social media — some called Morgan a ‘Nazi’ and a ‘racist’ for wearing it — but Morgan may have made things worse in his defense of the t-shirt in a now deleted Instagram post:
sincerely one of the worst things to ever happen to me: Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an Blue Lives Matter advocate pic.twitter.com/UwCA96LyJe
— Tara (@sweatylamarr) October 4, 2017
The full text of the Instagram post read:
“Dear a–holes. Blue lives do matter. Can’t believe I need to explain to you this fact. All lives matter. All of em. This shirt was made in response to the cold blooded murder of two GOOD cops in NY, both that had immigrated to the US, and took an oath to protect and serve. This shirt was given to me at a convention by a woman, who’s son, was shot during what was a routine traffic stop. He was black. I’m so tired of mean people. People who wake up in the morning, and I think, just sit behind the safety of their computers… anonymously… and start sh*t. Grow the f*ck up. The world has enough horrible things going on right now without your petty bullsh*t. Speaking of cops… I’d like to commend those in blue that saved countless lives in vegas. Those first responders saved hundreds… if not thousands. So you trolls…. go crawl under the rock in which you came. GOOD PEOPLE MATTER. You? Don’t.”
Morgan’s response did not sit well with many, and after deleting it, he posted an apology to Instagram. That post, however, has also since been deleted.
According to the BBC, it read:
“I stand behind the sentiment… but, what was meant as one thing has been taken as another. I understand those that are upset… and to those people I apologise. Of course black lives matter. I stand behind that. Always have. This country means the world to me. The good people in it mean the world to me… the ones [sic] looking for a fight around every corner? Racists? Bullies? They don’t. We are a country divided and it’s getting scarier every day.”
The outspoken actor will return to playing The Walking Dead villain when season eight kicks off on October 22nd on AMC.
(Via BBC)
