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Rob Schneider speaks out against what he calls “the rot in the soul of Hollywood.”
The actor says Hollywood is “ruining itself,” and part of the problem is the “blacklisting” of conservative celebrities.
Schneider, who is known for appearing on “Saturday Night Live” and in films like “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” and “The Hot Chick,” said in a recent interview that when he started speaking publicly about his right-leaning political views, his acting prospects went out the window.
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Rob Schneider said that when he first started sharing his political views, “it was like that” for his Hollywood career. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
“That was me in the movies,” he explained on the “American Thought Leaders” podcast.
“The act of telling the truth in a time of tyranny, in a time of lies, is an act of courage,” he continued. “And I’m not saying I’m brave. When I think of real courage, I think … in any great city, the graves of people who give, what Lincoln describes, the last full measure of their devotion to this great world.”
He added, “That’s a sacrifice. I mean, the fact that I’m never going to do ‘Deuce Bigalow’ 4, 5 and 6, I think that’s fine.”
Schneider laughed off the comparison of the two, but admitted that the influence of his ideas on his work is “amazing.”
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Schneider called her ongoing acting career “difficult.” (Getty Images/Jason LaVeris)
“Show the business, whether it’s right or wrong, they don’t want an argument,” he said. “You know, they don’t want you to have a mouth or anything, and that makes sense, but I think at some point, if we’re going to have a society and if we’re going to continue to have a free society, it’s going to require people to stand up and be brave.”
He said the First Amendment allows for this kind of courage, but acknowledged that free speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences — “you can ask Jimmy Kimmel,” he said with a laugh, referring to Kimmel’s brief suspension in September 2025 after his comments about the Charlie Kirk murder.
“It will cost you,” Schneider agreed.
The comedian said Hollywood “doesn’t want controversy.” (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
He gave Charlton Heston as an example: a famous actor and early supporter of the civil rights movement who was later “rejected by the liberal intelligentsia because he just happened to be a conservative.”
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“I think that’s a shame,” he admitted. “I think that’s decay in the soul of Hollywood. And I think today’s listing of conservatives is the same thing. I think, at its core, it’s adding to its destruction. And I think we’re seeing Hollywood break down completely.”
Schneider believes that many people will start, or have already started, getting their entertainment from social media instead of watching movies. (FilmMagic.com/FilmMagic)
Schneider believes that in five years, most of the big film studios in Los Angeles “will be just houses,” and instead of relying on Hollywood movies for entertainment, audiences will increasingly turn to watching videos on social media instead of movies.
“I think you’re going to see — you’re seeing right now — the rejection of Hollywood…
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