Bradley Whitford is currently promoting the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale. Originally, he was supposed to be a guest star, but it turned into a major role for him, as Commander Joseph Lawrence, “the architect of Gilead.” Whitford sought the role because he knew Elisabeth Moss from The West Wing, and in his new Variety interview, he is brimming with paternal-like pride for Moss’s development into a major actress and producer. That’s great and it’s interesting to me, but what’s more interesting is Whitford completely going off on MAGA politics and how The Handmaid’s Tale is basically optimistic compared to our new political reality. Some highlights from Variety:

He wishes that someone inside Trump’s cult would turn revolutionary: By Season 6, Lawrence has evolved into one of Gilead’s secret revolutionaries, ambivalent as he may be. Whitford wishes that someone in our own world would follow suit. In part, he blames his former and current network bosses for enabling the destruction of our democracy and the dismantling of our Constitution. “It’s interesting, especially when you look at all the people who I’ve worked for over the years lined up at the Trump inauguration, staying silent while their daughters’ rights are being torn away.”

The end of democracy: “It’s the end of democracy, and the planet’s on fire. But we’re focused on a renaissance in shoe comfort and cosmetic dentistry.”

He’s angry and he’s fed up. “You know, misogyny is at the reptilian brain stem of these right-wing Christian white nationalists. It’s punitive. And, man, I’m pissed at all the people I work for. Like, ‘F–KING. SPEAK. UP. I mean, if you run Disney, which I guess I work for now, I’ve sat through” — here, he imitates a studio head before the death of DEI — “‘We really care for you and want to make sure you have access to health care.’ Speak the f–k up! And Jeff Bezos, f–king speak up!”

What happened to Jeff Bezos: “I don’t want to be a punk attacking, but I would really like to ask Jeff Bezos — who, when I worked on ‘Transparent,’ was talking about the importance of supporting this vulnerable community who has been turned into a political football — ‘What the hell is happening here?!’”

Margaret Atwood is an optimist: “A year ago, there were 65,000 pregnant rape victims without access to abortion care. Now it’s way up from that. This is not a drill. It’s not a story. This is happening. Margaret Atwood said that she almost scrapped the book a couple of times because it seemed too far-fetched. Turns out Margaret Atwood’s an optimist.”

[From Variety]

The point he makes about Bezos is interesting, because for years, Bezos was genuinely interested in becoming a cultural figure and someone who stood up for the “right things” – free speech, freedom of the press, woke/liberal politics. Then a switch happened in the past six or seven years. Bezos was not a fan of Joe Biden from what I understand. But I don’t get how “I’m not crazy about Biden” turns into this extreme right-wing turn. I also don’t get how all of these allegedly smart CEOs and business leaders simply didn’t figure out that the leopards would eat their faces too. They honestly thought sucking up to Trump would spare them, they thought Trump heralded the post-woke golden age. Well… I hope all of them get exactly what they voted for.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.