Actor Chris Pratt, one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, has apologized for saying his industry does not represent “the average, blue-collar American.”
In an interview with Men’s Fitness, the Parks and Recreation alum decried the disparity of roles that “resonate” with him.
“I don’t see personal stories that necessarily resonate with me, because they’re not my stories,” Pratt told the outlet. “I think there’s room for me to tell mine — and probably an audience that would be hungry for them. The voice of the average, blue-collar American isn’t necessarily represented in Hollywood.”
It did not take long before social media users pounced on Pratt’s comments, some suggesting that several films, including several Academy Award-nominated movies, featured blue-collar characters and storylines:
Some left-wing blogs also piled on:
Jezebel: “Chris Pratt Is Kind of a Ding-Dong”
While it’s nice that Chris wants to see more people like himself on-screen, he is a straight, white male. And Hollywood has an *actual* diversity problem at the moment—both in terms of race and gender. So, actually, maybe it’s time for there to be less stories like Chris Pratt’s, and more stories about, oh, you know, literally any other marginalized community in this country.
The Mary Sue: “I Miss Not Knowing What Chris Pratt Thinks About Things”
Pratt hopped on Twitter on Friday and walked his blue-collar comments all the way back.
“That was actually a pretty stupid thing to say,” the Virginia, Minnesota, native wrote to his four million followers. “I’ll own that. There’s a ton of movies about blue collar America”:
Pratt, who stars in blockbuster franchise films, including Universal’s Jurassic World and Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Friday.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson.
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