I did not think I was familiar with this dude, Jake Lacy, but then I checked out his IMDB page and I realized that I’ve seen in a half-dozen things, like Fosse/Verdon and Miss Sloane. I guess he’s basically – ?? – an in-demand character actor. He’s currently starring in and promoting the new Hulu series High Fidelity, where Zoe Kravitz plays the lead character (who was played by John Cusack in the movie). During promotion for the show, Jake said something interesting about his politics in this election year:
Vermont native Jake Lacy supported Bernie Sanders in the last presidential election and is behind him again for 2020, but the “Girls” actor doesn’t like to publicly discuss his views.
“I’m not a Bernie bro,” the 35-year-old told Page Six at the premiere of his show “High Fidelity.” “That whole vibe is worrisome. I don’t have much of an interest in what other actors have to say about politics and I certainly hope people don’t have much of an interest in what I have to say about politics because I’m a dummy actor.”
But Lacy didn’t cringe watching Joaquin Phoenix and Brad Pitt sound off about current events and causes at the Oscars because he didn’t tune in for the awards show.
“Watching other people get accolades doesn’t do much for my work ethic,” he explained. “I mean, like, good on them. I’m happy for them but I don’t feel any desire to discover what they said about it. I’m happy they won.”
I wish I had never seen Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar speech, honestly, because it was a giant bummer. It must be nice to be a working actor and just feel like “meh, don’t care about the Oscar speeches, whatever.” As for his support of Bernie Sanders… I appreciate that he says “I’m not a Bernie bro, that whole vibe is worrisome,” because thank you, lone Bernie supporter for saying it. It IS worrisome. It’s several levels above worrisome. But I have to ask something of the Bernie supporters, and it’s something I’ve felt for so many years: how can you separate it? How can you say “yes, Bernie bros are some of the most toxic misogynists at the moment and Bernie Sanders hasn’t done enough to shut that sh-t down, but I still support him”?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I know quite a few Bernie supporters state that they aren’t “bros”, but they totally are. There is something about Bernie that brings out the worst in people. And it’s not just the men. His female supporters can be just as awful. As far as I’m concerned, Bernie supporters and Trump supporters are the same. They treat their candidate like a God who can do no wrong and refuse to acknowledge any flaws.
As for Jake, I remember his as Pete from The Office.
They’re the Scientologists of the political world.
Exactly.
Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters were just as toxic. Incredibly offputting
I know a lot of Bernie supporters who are immigrants and women of color(myself included). This narrative is myopic and narrow minded.
I voted Bernie during the 2016 primary, but I won’t support him again, and his followers are a large reason why. It’s scary that Bernie bros are not only harassing people on social media but some are members of the media. Yesterday, one Berne bro editor cooked up this whole conspiracy theory that Pete Buttigieg’s campaign manager, Lis Smith, was pretending to be a black Mayor Pete fan from Nigeria. This made no sense whatsoever, but the editor managed to get Lis Smith trending on Twitter for much of Sunday, and all the Bernie people piled on her. This accusation was later proven to be untrue.
Last week, Bernie bros also apparently harassed members of Nevada’s Culinary Union for expressing concerns about Sanders’ Medicare for All plan. When Sanders was asked about this, he just said that anyone online can pretend to be his supporters but that doesn’t mean they really are rather than actually telling his supporters to behave respectfully toward people who disagree with them. As far as I’m concerned, Bernie endorses their behavior if he won’t shut it down or make a good faith effort to do so. Same goes for Beyonce and her Beyhive.
It’s Plop!
Oh my God, it is! I was trying to figure out where I knew him from! He was one of the only good parts in those last two miserable seasons.
I just started watching High Fidelity on Hulu and he’s handsome and charming in it, didn’t know him before.
“How can you say “yes, Bernie bros are some of the most toxic misogynists at the moment and Bernie Sanders hasn’t done enough to shut that sh-t down, but I still support him”?”
I absolutely believe a lot of people can do that, especially the youth. Last month I helped chaperone a group of 200+ inner city high school students to go campaigning in Iowa and the vast majority of them supported Bernie. The reasons they shared were varied and often heartbreaking and truly earnest. I know a few college students who are the same way.
I think if you’re not on Twitter, which most of them are not, it’s easier to avoid the toxic Bernie bro culture. Although I did encounter a few in person while we were in Iowa but I have to say that the field organizers we met and trained with in Iowa were very careful to preemptively shut down any negativity. I can’t see crushing such idealistic, energetic supporters such as these young people by saying they shouldn’t support Bernie because of that faction of his supporters. They wouldn’t listen to me anyway, lol.
The Bernie bros are like a terrible genie that no one will ever get back into the bottle but I do think some people aren’t affected by them. I don’t know. It’s scary and distressing for sure, though, knowing how vociferously they are badgering people and threatening to not support the nominee if it isn’t Bernie. The way they trash other candidates is very reminiscent of Trump and his goons.
Bernie’s supporters are increasingly becoming more cult-like, and that is worrisome, and I don’t support it, but by no means they have reached Trump’s level (when have Bernie Bros chanted nazi hymns holding torches?) and I’m terrified there’s people who want to equate them. Don’t equate them. Hillary was equated to Trump during the campaign and that’s why a lot of Trump-dissenters ended up not voting.
Staff on his campaign have called for Gulags and have stated they will take up arms and lead with violence if he doesn’t win. I think that is just as bad as anything Trump supporters have done and just because they aren’t Trump supporters doesn’t make it any less crazy and dangerous. They are equally insane and malicious. (*FWIW I’m not a supporter of either)
“How can you say “yes, Bernie bros are some of the most toxic misogynists at the moment and Bernie Sanders hasn’t done enough to shut that sh-t down, but I still support him”?”
This right here. And the whole lesser than two evils vibe has been pushed to the curb in my head as well. These last four years have done a serious number on me. I’m not content with anything. I can’t laugh, poke fun or endure speeches and lectures of any kind, at any venue or for any reason. Unless I click news and see, “Mass Exodus of all three government branches sets off American Democracy Earthquake,” I’m beyond skeptical. I’m a flatout nonbeliever of our current so-called checks and balances. The proof is our state of affairs, and there’s not an argument on the planet that can rectify. We. Have. Devolved. And enough Americans are so happy, we’ll continue this nightmare another four years. By that time, if anyone thinks reversals of fortunes are around the corner, think again. The cesspool has solidified and that’s what we’re skating on for the foreseeable future. He didn’t drain the swamp, he is the swamp, and he brought the swamp to every corner of this country. Enjoy.
I agree with the poster above which suggested Twitter brings out the worst in Sanders supporters, just like it does everyone. Every Sanders supporter I’ve met in person is idealistic and liberal-minded but open to debate and criticism. My fiancé and I both voted for Sanders in the 2016 primary and plan to do so again, and we don’t associate with or have met IRL any Bernie Bros. We see him as standing a great chance against Trump. A moderate Democratic candidate unfortunately didn’t work out last time (yes, a lot of Bernie Bros didn’t vote Dem out of spite but they were FAR from the only group that didn’t vote for Clinton) and his rhetoric against corporations and big business MAY even bring out some anti establishment Republicans. I also really dislike all the other top candidates except Klobuchar.
I find it impossible to believe you’ve not met any bernie bros. Maybe that vibe is normal. ???
It’s not normal to me. I’m in grad school, so I only have time to socialize with people in my classes and at work so maybe I’ve just been lucky!
I feel like it’s a mix…I know several Sanders supporters, and most are decent people. However, I’ve basically had to step back from a friendship I had with two white friends (men) who happen to be the stereotypical Bernie bros…they had a bad habit of being class reductionists and they constantly brought up Bernie even when I said “let’s not talk politics.” They were constantly trying to get me to change from Warren to Bernie…and as a Black woman, I just got really fed up with white guys saying only the “elites” dislike Bernie or vote Biden/Warren/Castro/Klobuchar/etc….considering older Black voters are most definitely not elite and tend to fall in Joe’s camp.
Bernie would get SMASHED in the general. Absolutely bug on a windshield squished. Take your pick: his colleagues don’t like him. He throws everyone under the bus (you think *Warren* pushed out the story about their convo?) and takes zero responsibility for his shthead followers or even what his paid advocates do. He was a deadbeat dad. He honeymooned in Moscow in the 80s. His wife appears to have committed financial fraud and not had to answer for it. He sided with Iran in the hostage crisis. He had a major heart attack. He hasn’t released his taxes or his medical records though he promised to do so. His own surrogates readily admit his ideas are non-starters.
I mean…. he’s a terrible candidate.
Jane Sanders and her time as president of Burlington College should be getting more attention than it has gotten, along with her husband’s involvement in it. It came up some during the 2016 primary, when the college had to shut down due to crippling debt accumulated during her tenure as president. Both of them were cleared in 2018 by Vermont’s state AG, but it does raise questions about their ethics. To me that’s very important with how corrupt the current administration is.
I took a quiz about “political” issues in the Washington Post to determine which candidate most closely associated with my agenda/ideals, and it was Bernie (i’m a good, old fashioned liberal).
But in my primary, I am voting for Elizabeth Warren. She is a little more conservative, but she makes me feel like I might one day be proud of our country again. And that matters too.
I’m most impressed by her record thus far, that she has a smart plan for nearly everything and can hit the ground running. M biggest problem with Bernie is his own congressional record, lots of lip service but little to show for it after many many years in public office.
Elizabeth Warren is far and away the best candidate but I’m afraid she may have sunk her chances with the whole Bernie saying a woman couldn’t win debacle. She probably caused a lot of people to hop over to him seeing they are both the progressive candidates. The big difference is Warren actually has plans to put her ideas into fruition. It all seems so familiar…
With Warren trailing, I find myself wanting Biden to win the primary even though my political views match with Bernie. And that’s due to Bernie not walking the walk, mainly. His toxic supporters are a close second though.
I agree with most of Bernie’s policies, although I am a Warren supporter. However, if Warren drops out I’ll probably support Klobuchar or Biden for the below reasons:
His plans are up in the air compared to Warren, who spells everything out. Even Klobuchar and Biden have more concrete policies. And when questioned, Bernie basically says he’ll get people to “pressure/primary” politicians who don’t agree with him…which is kind of funny, because I’m pretty sure Democratic senators in swing states/red states would love to be seen as his “enemy.” Lastly, I find it kind of irritating that he misleads people by spinning it as if every country with universal healthcare has single payer. Plenty of countries have great universal, free healthcare…and it’s not single payer.
My other issue is that his own campaign staff is awful and mostly voted for Jill Stein, and if that is who he picks to run his campaign…who will he pick for cabinet positions, etc. if he’s President? I still remember his press secretary trolled John Lewis, after he posted a photo of his cats, with “John will throw them under the bus #Bernie would have won.” What kind of asshole does that type of shit? And some other major figure got busted for making a fake, racist website back in the 90s when running some other politician’s campaign…just a mess.
Thank you.
I’ll preface my comment by saying that I plan to vote blue no matter what because that’s a moral imperative at this point.
I also live in Austin and was out and about wearing my Warren tee-shirt last weekend, and had not one, not two, but *three* encounters with Bernie Bros in the wild, all while running errands and minding my own business.
I didn’t approach them, didn’t engage with them, but all 3 dudes took it upon themselves to try to enlighten me about why Warren was an ineffective lightweight facsimile of Bernie (they didn’t use that word because they weren’t actually all that bright).
I got told why I didn’t understand how economics really works, how I don’t understand what real socialism is (it’s Bernie, of course).
I rarely ever play the PhD card but in these cases I told them I had a PhD in philosophy and an ivy league degree (all 100% true) and that my research focused on Marxism, anarchism, and syndicalism (which I had to explain to them because apparently even though they were legit socialists they had never heard that term).
Seriously, y’all. I don’t hate Bernie, and I mostly am on board with his policies. But the fact that he doesn’t vocally and frequently and clearly denounce the Bernie bro cult makes me pretty pissed off. It’s exhausting. Like… dudes, we’re not the enemies, ok? Let me grocery shop in my Warren shirt in peace.
After a couple of encounters like that I now just say in my calmest voice Please don’t talk to me then walk off. One bro called me a bad name and another followed me a bit still yakking. My mind’s made up, bro, bug off.
I have not met any Bernie bros but I’m in my 40s and not on Twitter and live in Brooklyn
me too! i live in Brooklyn and work on a political comedy tv show, and the majority of people i know are Bernie supporters, at work and in my social life. i even know someone who works for Clinton but donates to bernie. i’ve met passionate supporters but never met an actual disrespectful bro in the wild.
but i was talking to my friend’s sister who is 23 and lives in Bushwick (a bro-ier scene) and she said she has absolutely been talked over by Bernie supporters, which i can totally see, like a smug skater guy who thinks he’s so woke but actually oozes unchecked toxicity.
but as someone who knows so many respectful Bernie supporters, the fact that the Bernie bro narrative is focused on so much does bother me. there’s a genuine movement there too.
Really depends where in Brooklyn. I live near the F line and take the F with a much older neighbor who is a Trump supporter and wears MAGA hat. We were on the same train recently and the second we passed Jay Street the onslaught of insanity and nasty remarks he received from typical Bernie bros while sitting quietly and reading his paper were disgusting. I don’t care who anyone supports, unless you are being attacked, you keep your nasty comments to yourself. They are unhinged when they spot anyone who doesn’t agree with them.
I would like a non-Bernie bro supporter to explain to me: 1) Aren’t you worried about Bernie’s age at all? What is going to happen if Bernie, who is 80 years old and has already had one heart attack that we know about, either dies in office or becomes seriously mentally or physically impaired? 2) If Bernie is such a great politician, why didn’t he ever do anything as a Senator?
I’m super worried about his age but he can choose a good running mate and solve that problem. I also think that the Democratic Party has moved so far to the right since Clinton it needs to be dragged back to left center. What Bernie and Warren are proposing is not considered left or radical anywhere else in the developed world. Before we can have real change we need to recalibrate the conversation. Bernie and Warren are the only two supporting Medicare for all and the expansion of public education to include 4 years of college. Do I expect these things to happen day one? No. But if we can make them reasonable ideas that can be seriously considered maybe these things can happen in my life time. Another neoliberal corporate suit will not change anything at all. That’s why I’ll vote for either Bernie or Warren in the primary. I’ve donated to both and whichever has the best shot in my state will get my vote.
Oh I totally understand the ideological argument and I agree with both Sanders and Warren on all their policies, I am more left than either of them! What I want to know is: What makes you think Sanders can implement policy, can get legislation passed? Is it that once he is POTUS, he will sign a bunch of Executive Orders? (I mean this seriously, after all this is what Trump does.)
Thanks for your answer about the running-mate, that clarifies things. So the hope is that whoever Sanders picks will be able to carry the torch, so to speak. That helps me understand why people seem not to “see” his age.
But I don’t like or trust any of the hired surrogates Bernie has chosen; I wouldn’t remotely trust his decision for VP.
Why do so many people support Bernie? Elizabeth Warren has similar policy ambitions but has actually mapped out plans for how she’d accomplish her campaign promises. Bernie? Not so much.
Democracy may be dealt a death blow this November and it will be because old, white men don’t want to step aside for someone who’s actually better. Looking at you Grabby hands Biden, Billionaire Bloomberg and Hot Air Sanders
I too don’t get why Bernie and Biden don’t step out. Neither of them is well, Bernie especially. At least Biden has positive relationships with people on the Hill.
Ego. They want their turn.
I’m just not interested in Bernie at all as our president. I’m for Warren, or Klobuchar. I do not hate Bernie or Biden but cannot get excited about either of them; that said, of course I’ll vote blue and am registered Democratic for primary voting reasons, not sure it matters though as I’m on the west coast.