General Hospital alum Antonio Sabato Jr. (ex-Jagger Cates) spoke at this year's Republican National Convention and vocalized his support of presidential candidate Donald Trump, who he believes will secure borders and protect citizens. And now the actor is claiming that his public support of the presidential candidate has affected his career in a big way.
Sabato shares that not only has he faced intense bullying on social media since the convention on July 18, but he also feels he's been blacklisted from the entertainment industry as a whole.
"I think this country allows you freedom of speech. Anybody should be allowed to say whatever they want. When you're in my business, you can't talk about [conservative] politics. You just can't. You're attacked viciously in a way that I've never been attacked before. On Twitter, there's been name calling, and celebrities attacking me," he told Variety.
"I've had fantastic directors who have said officially to my agents and managers they will never hire me again," he continued. "They will never even see me for projects. That's unfair. It's just like Communism. We're in the business. You're supposed to be hired based on your talent and abilities, not because of how you feel about politics or religion. But that's how they do things. It's not just me. I know a lot of people in the industry who are in the same boat. The reality is if you're associated with the Republican Party, the casting directors and producers already blacklist you based on that. I know people that just showed up, they didn't speak -- and they are not getting work because of it."
But the former soap star doesn't stop there. In addition to claiming that directors refuse to hire him because of his political beliefs, Sabato criticizes Hollywood for contradicting its own liberal values.
"Hollywood is very liberal, but they contradict themselves all the time," he opines. "They don't want the war, but they'll have a president who voted for the war. Hollywood wants to help the entire world. They do the opposite -- government under the Democratic Party has done absolutely nothing. I choose Trump. I support everything he's going to do. A lot of people in America feel the same way."
There have already been responses to Sabato's claims. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel addressed the actor's claims in his monologue. "How can you be blacklisted from something that didn't even have you listed in the first place?"
In addition to his RNC apppearance, Sabato also drew fire for claims he levied about the president during an ABC News interview. During that sit-down interview, Sabato claimed that President Obama has ties to terrorists. You can watch the interview here.
For Sabato's full rant on how his support of Trump has created roadblocks in his career, read Variety's article here.
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