Actor Drea De Matteo, best known for her Emmy-winning role as Adriana La Cerva in The Sopranos, said in an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters that Hollywood is "going to take me out into the woods and shoot me for not endorsing [President Joe] Biden" while claiming there are secretly "a lot" of Trump supporters.
After Watters shared clips of Hollywood stars who attended a fundraiser for Biden, De Matteo expressed her displeasure and offered the following counterpoint when Watters asked her if there is "a quiet Trump voter in Hollywood":
"I think there's a lot of them. I think there are a lot. ... That was a hard intro to watch. I’m sorry. It’s the Italian, man. We’re talking about [Anthony] Fauci, we’re talking about [Robert] De Niro. I am mortified right now by my people. I don’t understand what we’re doin’ here.”
“There are a lot of quiet Trump supporters, a lot of [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] supporters. I wonder how much these actors got paid to endorse Biden at this point. I am curious.”
"I wonder if De Niro got a locations fee to travel to the courtroom. ... I don't really maneuver inside that industry, never have. First of all, [on The Sopranos] we were the outcasts; even though we were critically acclaimed, we still were outcasts."
"I'm still an outcast. Here I am. They’re going to take me out into the woods and shoot me for not endorsing Biden."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Watters endorsed her point of view during his segment, saying De Matteo is one of just a few actors who isn't afraid "to break Hollywood's policy":
"Hollywood is a lot like the mob with money, drugs, women, and powerful people operating behind the scenes. But the most important thing in both worlds is loyalty, but is it loyalty towards the Don or loyalty towards the Dems?"
"Which is why every election season Hollywood stars go out there and stump for Democrats. Step out of line and you and your career are going to get whacked."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
@jessebwatters Hollywood is a lot like the mob with money, drugs, women, and powerful people operating behind the scenes. But the most important thing in both worlds is loyalty, but is it loyalty towards the Don or loyalty towards the Dems?
De Matteo's claims were swiftly criticized.
De Matteo's claims mirror previous ones made by actor and comedian Rob Schneider in 2022.
At the time, Schneider claimed there is no shortage of conservatives in Hollywood but his many conservative friends are "scared" of speaking out for risk of tanking their careers.
He said in an interview with Fox News that his conservative friends genuinely "fear cancel culture too much to speak up." He also said he has been shunned in Hollywood for openly sharing his conservative views, and he has people who don't "return calls as often."
Schneider has gone on record before to say he is willing to "lose it all" for his MAGA beliefs and once said he's long past caring about his career and instead cares about "my children and the country they're going to live in."