The 'A Room with a View' actor claims his former co-star was radicalized online after the latter landed in hot water for lashing out over 'white privilege' remarks.
- Apr 22, 2020
AceShowbiz - British actor Rafe Spall has put his old pal Laurence Fox's outspoken right-wing outbursts down to anger and spending too much time online.
The "Life of Pi" star, who appeared alongside Laurence in a 2007 British TV adaptation of "A Room with a View", was alarmed by his appearance on BBC political discussion show"Question Time" in January 2020 when the "Lewis" star branded an audience member "racist" for suggesting he benefited from white privilege.
In part, Rafe puts Fox's words and subsequent social media posts and media appearances that have also caused controversy, down to anger - but also the effect the Internet has on reinforcing negative views.
"If you feel like you're being attacked then you can get angry, you can spout stuff," Rafe tells The Guardian. "You might think you're being cogent and original but actually it's just borne out of anger. So that's not pushing the conversation forward, because it's angry and reductive and without nuance."
"We can all go on iamright.com and have our s**tty opinions vindicated," he says. "Then you start writing tweets about the mainstream media, and before you know it you're banging on about 5G conspiracy theories. It's a really slippery slope. When you pick and choose bits of information that suit your agenda, that's bigotry."
In fact, the "Men in Black: International" actor says he thinks actors should steer clear of politics whenever possible.
"I get dressed up, wear foundation and pretend to be other people," he says. "That's a lovely thing and people enjoy it, but I'm not a political commentator, I'm not a sage. I mess about and get paid for it."
