Michael Imperioli clarifies his recent remarks about banning all “homophobes and fanatics” from viewing his work, saying some people didn’t understand the “irony” of his statement.
THE white lotus star, 57, announced his cheeky “ban” as part of an Instagram post publicly ridiculing the Supreme Court’s recent anti-LGBTQ+ ruling over the weekend. After receiving good media coverage, the actor weighed in on his initial comments, which have since been deleted, by posting a screenshot of a CNN article on Instagram.
“After turning down invitations to appear on various news programs, I thought it best to clarify,” Imperioli wrote on Tuesday. “The message referred to here was a satirical and symbolic version of where blatantly discriminatory Supreme Court rulings are leading us as a nation: into utter division and possibly far worse.”
“I believe in religious freedom, freedom of speech, and the right of individuals to pursue happiness. I also believe in the separation of church and state as stated in the First Amendment,” a- he continued. “I believe that all persons, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, sex or sexuality, are entitled to liberty, equality, rights and protection under the laws of our nation. And I vehemently oppose hatred, prejudice and bigotry and always have.”
He concluded: “Some people didn’t understand the irony I was expressing, so I thought I’d be more explicit. Regardless, the post certainly got the message across to most and did his job. End of story.”
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Michel Imperioli
Imperioli’s first remarks came on Saturday, a day after it was revealed that the Supreme Court had voted in favor of a Christian web designer who had refused to provide same-sex marriage services over their objections. nuns. In his original post, he added, “Thank you, Supreme Court, for allowing me to discriminate against and exclude those I disagree with and oppose. USA! USA!”
The initial post quickly sparked anger in his comments section, to which Imperioli replied at the time, “Hate and ignorance is not a legitimate point of view.”
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