Zachary Levi, who once said he lost out on acting gigs because he was “too Jewish,” is now opening up on navigating the backlash he’s faced due to his support of Donald Trump and espousing controversial views on COVID-19 vaccines.
The “Shazam!” star endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential election after his preferred candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out and joined forces with the MAGA leader.
Already courting “cancellation” because of his vaccine skepticism, he called the move “career suicide” at the time because “Hollywood is a very, very liberal town.”
In a wide-ranging interview published Thursday, Levi revealed that he’s since experienced the wrath of Hollywood.
“I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions. My team has let me know,” he told Variety executive editor Tatiana Siegel. “They haven’t given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it’s unfortunate.”
The self-described Hollywood pariah — whose credits include “Chuck,” “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Harold and the Purple Crayon” — also revealed that while he may be one of few people in the industry who publicly came forward with their support of Trump, he’s not the only one.
“I know it to be true because I’ve gotten messages from lots of people who I won’t name but who were very grateful to me for taking the stand that I took,” Levi said. “They would tell me, ‘I want to do that, but I’m so afraid.’ And I would tell them, ‘Listen, you’re on your journey. I’m on my journey. You’ve got to keep trusting God. And if you feel compelled to step out in that way, then do it boldly and know that you’re going to be OK. And if you don’t feel that conviction yet, then don’t. It’s all good.’”
The 44-year-old Louisiana native, who welcomed his first child with photographer Maggie Keating in April, also shared his true thoughts on Trump himself, saying he’s not blind to certain issues.
“I was not a fan of Trump’s Trumpiness. I didn’t like a lot of these personal things, the ways that he carries himself a lot of the time,” Levi confessed. “I understand people’s aversion. Do I think the whole package is somehow perfect? No. In fact, most people who voted for Donald Trump recognize a lot of the imperfections in all of it. Nobody was saying, ‘This is the Orange Messiah.’”
