‘We didn’t talk a lot of politics when we were making the movie,’ filmmaker said
Hillbilly Elegy director Ron Howard has taken a swipe at JD Vance, suggesting that Donald Trump’s Republican running mate has “changed” since he first met him.
Since being announced as Trump’s running mate, Vance has been criticised for comments that saw him refer to women, such as Trump’s presidential rival Kamala Harris, as “childless cat ladies”. This prompted swift backlash and accusations of sexism, with Vance claiming the remarks were made in “sarcasm”.
“When we spoke around the time that I knew him, he was not involved in politics or claimed to be particularly interested. So that was then.”
I have a hard time believing that. Filmed in June 2019, and Vance was elected November 2022, I simply don't buy that he 180'd that hard just a year or two later. Perhaps Vance did not talk about campaign plans on set, but without question his narrow bigoted views would've been made clear. Ultimately, I too am surprised and disappointed, but in Ron Howard for making a movie about this ass.
Look into Vance a bit deeper. He's no hillbilly. Nor Appalachian. He was born in Middletown Ohio. He went to Yale. He's latched on to experiences only heard about in stories from his family. Pretending it was something he did. He's the lowest kind of low.
The thing that f****** got me is he was all read this book and you'll understand why we respond the way we do. And you go through the entire book waiting for the other shoe to drop or the first shoe to drop.
It goes right from business drying up in Appalachia and drugs moving in, to him trying to scare the s*** out of the poor to hate the foreigners while taking their money and giving it to the corporations who don't give two f**** about the people.
RFK also 180d from never wanting to go into politics to helping the Trump campaign. It's almost like there's something about the Republican party that draws in money-hungry grifters...
During their last text exchange that was outlined in the article, they had this to say:
“I know I can’t change your mind but the political voice you have become seems so far from the man I got to know in law school,” wrote Nelson, later explaining their position “as a trans person who accessed needed health care so I could live a full life.”
It does seem like Vance did 180 from someone equating Trump to Hitler to Trump's running mate in just a few years.
I don’t even know why this is a question, people can absolutely be radicalized in a short period time, especially the apolitical. Even faster when large sums of money are involved.
He did start a nonprofit for help with addiction. No money was spent to help those with addiction issues. It was graft that he used to funnel to his campaign.
His mentor says hillbilly elegy was written to propel him into politics. So I find it hard to believe he wasn’t interested when that was the reason for the book
I said same thing not long ago when learned of the fucking movie and saw who directed it. I was sad to think that he was right wing and why would he direct this movie. Also fuck Netflix for funding it.
If you don’t understand that Ron Howard has no ill intent in his DNA then you need a reality check on your sad life. Take a break from social media and watch everything Ron Howard has done in his life and shame on you.
Maybe he could have just been, I don't know, paying attention? Ron Howard is full of shit, here.
From JD Vance's Wikipedia:
In December 2016, Vance said he planned to move to Ohio and would consider starting a nonprofit or running for office.[54][50] In Ohio, he started Our Ohio Renewal, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization focused on education, addiction, and other "social ills" he had mentioned in his memoir.[55] According to a 2017 archived capture of the nonprofit's website, the members of the advisory board were Keith Humphreys, Jamil Jivani, Yuval Levin, and Sally Satel.[56][57] According to a 2020 capture of the website, those four remained in those positions throughout the organization's existence.[58] Our Ohio Renewal closed after less than two years with sparse achievements.[55][59] According to Jivani, the organization's director of law and policy, its work was derailed by Jivani's cancer diagnosis.[60][61] It raised around $221,000 in 2017 and spent the majority of its revenue on overhead costs and travel. In subsequent years, it raised less than $50,000.[57]
During Vance's 2022 campaign for US Senate, Tim Ryan, the Democratic nominee, said the charity was a front for Vance's political ambitions. Ryan pointed to reports that the organization paid a Vance political adviser and conducted public opinion polling, while its efforts to address addiction failed. Vance denied the characterization.[62][63][c] Our Ohio Renewal's tax filings showed that in its first year, it spent more (over $63,000) on "management services" provided by its executive director Jai Chabria, who also served as Vance's top political adviser, than it did on programs to fight opioid abuse.[67][57]
Vance was born in Middletown Ohio. He never was a hillbilly or an appalachian. So it can always get worse. It would be an insult to veneers to call his projected identity a thin veneer. I don't think it's substantial enough to even be a laquer.
The dude is trading on stories told to him by his parents and grandparents when he was a wee little ottoman fucker. Passing it off as if it was his accomplishment.
That’s because liberals are gullible enough to believe that Republican media and politicians are well meaning folks doing the right thing for the right reasons. And liberal policies and policy makers have basically turned off working folks in rural areas.