'Seinfeld' Actor John O'Hurley 'Embarrassed' for Debra Messing over Her Call To Out Trump Supporters
“Seinfeld” actor John O’Hurley said on Monday he is “embarrassed” for “Will & Grace” star Debra Messing after she called for supporters of President Donald Trump in Hollywood to be publicly named.
“Please print a list of all attendees please. The public has a right to know,” Messing tweeted in response to a Hollywood Reporter article about Trump participating in a Beverly Hills fundraiser.
The Reporter noted the Sept. 17 event falls just days after the Emmy Awards, which brings together many of Tinseltown’s elite.
Please print a list of all attendees please. The public has a right to know. https://t.co/YV4UoxrPHI
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) August 31, 2019
Messing’s “Will & Grace” co-star Eric McCormack made the same ask of the news outlet, tweeting, “kindly report on everyone attending this event, so the rest of us can be clear about who we don’t wanna work with. Thx.”
O’Hurley — best known for his longstanding role as J. Peterman, Elaine’s boss, on “Seinfeld” — weighed in on his fellow actors’ requests for Trump supporters to be outed, calling it “obscene.”
“Well, let me just say that I’m embarrassed for both of them,” O’Hurley said. “And I’ll say this because I know them both and I’ve worked with Debra before.”
“They are both smart people,” he continued. “They do wonderful work, but they’re pushing the case that falls apart from the sheer weight of its lunacy as though the Hollywood community needs to be purged of this social and intellectual hygiene problem called conservative thinking.
“It underscores the fact that we aren’t receptive to diversity of thought, which is the exact opposite of what you feel the liberal way would be. And I find that obscene.”
O’Hurley added that artists in particular should value a wide range of beliefs and opinions.
He recounted one of the people he most enjoys talking to about current events is “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston, though they are on the opposite sides of the political spectrum.
“It is very difficult to be a conservative in Hollywood,” O’Hurley said. “Even though there are many of us, you do feel like you are an island fighting the storm.”
Trump weighed in on Messing’s request, tweeting, “I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do The Apprentice, and when it then became a big hit, helping NBC’s failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me ‘Sir.’ How times have changed!”
I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do The Apprentice, and when it then became a big hit, helping NBC’s failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me “Sir.” How times have changed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2019
Actor Dean Cain responded to Messing’s tweet, writing, “I’m not attending, because I’ll be out of town. Otherwise, I’d have been happy to attend.”
I’m not attending, because I’ll be out of town. Otherwise, I’d have been happy to attend. https://t.co/VWPbuPPQi9
— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) August 31, 2019
Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, like O’Hurley, dinged the actress for failing to live up to the entertainment community’s stated commitment to diversity.
Tolerant Hollywood: “Burn them! Burn the witches!!” https://t.co/q4skFg9S7q
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 31, 2019
He tweeted, “Tolerant Hollywood: ‘Burn them! Burn the witches!!’”
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