Lee Daniels has joined the growing number of Hollywood A-listers speaking out against Donald Trump. This weekend at a Human Rights Campaign gala in Los Angeles, the co-creator of Empire and director of The Butler and Precious cautioned the world against Trump, addressing the fact that, while his campaign may have started as a source of comedy, it’s moved into the realm of horror.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Daniels said of Trump, “He’s taking over — he’s coming in to take us down, y’all, and this is serious business. Let’s do the right thing and make sure Clinton is in that f—ing office and taking care of us.”
He compared his fear of a Trump presidency to the fear he felt while facing real live gunfire. “I’m not afraid of anything,” Daniels said. “I’ve dodged bullets — real bullets before — but now I’m afraid because these motherf—ers are coming for us, y’all.”
Daniels hammered his point home by insisting that it’s not just the poor and the minorities who should be worried — everyone should be. “And this is not a joke. I’ve watched everyone make light of what is going on. They are coming for every one of you. White people are not excluded — they’re coming for us.”
Apt words from one of our best creators who has, in Empire, a very large platform from which to speak his mind. Will a Trump caricature appear in the upcoming season? Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it.