Michael Imperioli Clarifies Comments Banning ‘Bigots’ From Watching His Work
The Sopranos alum Michael Imperioli has clarified comments he made over the weekend in light of the Supreme Court decision, which ruled that a web designer could refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings on religious grounds.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Imperioli responded to the 6-3 ruling, stating, “I’ve decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching The Sopranos, The White Lotus, Goodfellas or any movie or tv show I’ve been in.”
“Thank you Supreme Court for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don’t agree with and am opposed to. USA! USA!” he continued.
The White Lotus star followed up with a number of comments on the post, writing, “Hate and ignorance is not a legitimate point of view… it’s called dehumanization” and that “America is becoming dumber by the minute.”
Imperioli’s post received both support and backlash and now the Emmy-winning actor is clarifying his position.
“After turning down invitations to appear on various news programs, I thought it best just to clarify: The post referred to here was a satirical and symbolic take on where blatantly discriminatory Supreme Court decisions are taking us as a nation — into utter division and possibly far worse,” he wrote in a new Instagram post on Tuesday, July 4.
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“I believe in religious freedom, freedom of speech and the right for individuals to pursue happiness. I also believe in the separation of church and state as stated in the First Amendment,” he continued. “I believe that all people regardless of race, religion, color, creed, gender or sexuality are entitled to freedom, equality, rights and protection under the laws of our nation. And i vehemently oppose hate, prejudice and bigotry and always have.”
He went on to say that some people “have not gotten the irony” of his first post, “so I thought I’d be more explicit.” He concluded, “Anyway, the post certainly got the message across to most and did it’s job. End of story.”
