Mark Wahlberg Says Celebrities Should Shut Up About Politics: What About Donald Trump, Reality Show Star?

Mark Wahlberg, a celebrity, recently shared an opinion about politics. The Ted 2 star thinks that celebrities shouldn’t talk about politics.

Mark Wahlberg believes that the rich and famous should stop sharing their political views with their fans because actors, singers, and television stars don’t know what life is like for the common man. While promoting Patriots Day, his upcoming movie about the Boston Marathon bombing, the actor shared his thoughts about mixing politics and fame.

“A lot of celebrities did, do, and shouldn’t,” Wahlberg said of famous folk who talk politics.

“A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble. They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family.”

Mark Wahlberg also told Task & Purpose that he thinks average Americans aren’t all that interested in what celebrities have to say about politics, anyway. Wahlberg pointed to the long list of megastars who came out in support of Hillary Clinton as proof that average Americans don’t care what celebrities think. As Vanity Fair points out, Clinton had massively successful celebrities like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce actively campaigning for her.

“You know, it just goes to show you that people aren’t listening to that anyway. They might buy your CD or watch your movie, but you don’t put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills.”

Many Americans might agree with Mark Wahlberg’s assessment of celebrities, but there’s one celebrity that average Americans listened to during the election: The Apprentice star Donald Trump. If the reality show star had taken Wahlberg’s advice and never uttered a peep about anything political, he wouldn’t be the president-elect right now.

According to Vanity Fair, Trump’s fame may actually be what helped him win the White House — Hillary Clinton’s numerous celebrity supporters failed to help her secure the presidency because she was running against an actual celebrity.

While some may view Mark Wahlberg’s recent remarks as being anti-Hillary Clinton, the Huffington Post reports that the actor actually hinted that he was “with her” at one point. If Wahlberg isn’t a Donald Trump supporter, perhaps he considers the president-elect to be one of the celebrity “bubble” dwellers who should avoid talking politics.

“Let’s just say that I am VERY open to having our first female president,” Mark Wahlberg told ELLE in September. “I am very open to that.”

Wahlberg had been asked to share his thoughts about Donald Trump being “in charge of the future of our young women.”

Mark Wahlberg has interacted with Donald Trump before. The actor told The Guardian that he and the president-elect had a lengthy conversation at a celebrity golf event for charity a decade or so ago, and the future leader of the free world did most of the talking. According to Wahlberg, Donald Trump’s favorite topic was himself.

“He was very Donald Trump-like, talking about the things that he does, things that he has, business interests, properties, stuff like that,” Wahlberg said. “But he wasn’t ever mean or rude. I don’t think he asked me too many personal questions, or about what I do.”

While Mark Wahlberg hasn’t said anything too negative about Donald Trump, he did speak out against one of Trump’s campaign promises. Wahlberg told Task & Purpose that he’s against the president-elect’s proposed Muslim ban.

“I have a lot of Muslim friends who are really amazing people,” Wahlberg said. “So anything like that is just completely absurd and unacceptable to me. I’m a devout Catholic. I have a lot of Jewish friends. I’ve got a lot of friends from all over the world. And I think a lot of good people have been mistreated for a long time and we need to fix that.”

So Mark Wahlberg said that celebrities shouldn’t talk politics, but he went on to share one of his own political views. This may seem hypocritical to some, but Wahlberg believes that he’s different from the Hollywood stars who are “living in a bubble” because he is “very aware of the real world.” As Us Weekly reports, “Marky Mark” worked as a bricklayer before his rap career took off.

“I come from the real world and I exist in the real world,” Mark Wahlberg said. “And although I can navigate Hollywood and I love the business and the opportunities it’s afforded me, I also understand what it’s like not to have all that.”

[Featured Image by John Sciulli/Getty Images for CBS Films]