James Woods Calls Out 'Hypocritical' Hollywood For Blacklisting Him (Exclusive)

James Woods claims he has been blacklisted from Hollywood because of his conservative political views.

The Academy Award-nominated actor has long been a voice for those leaning to the right among Tinseltown's stars and believes he is being shunned from the entertainment industry because of it, much akin to the McCarthy-era blacklist of the mid-20th century that denied employment to actors, screenwriters, directors, musicians, etc. believed to be Communists or Communist sympathizers

"I've always loved what I've done. In all seriousness, though, it's no joke when people blacklist people for their politics. I did a very famous movie called 'Citizen Cohn' about what Roy Cohn did to a lot of people, and Joseph McCarthy, and at the time, there were a lot of movies done about the blacklist. And now we have a blacklist in reverse, and it's not fair," the 72-year-old explained outside Craig's restaurant in Los Angeles recently.

"I know a lot of people that have come up to me and said, 'You know, I agree with a lot of the things you say, but I can't say anything or I'll be blacklisted and I'll never work again," the "Casino" star added.

Woods was referring to the Hollywood blacklist that took place during the 1940s and 1950s just around the beginning of the Cold War. The blacklist derailed or ended the careers of highly talented artists -- including Dalton Trumbo, Adrian Scott, and Lillian Hellman -- for their alleged Communist ties. U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy was a prominent leader in the anti-Communist movement.

The actor also shared his thoughts on the country being divided today by only a small faction of both left-wing and right-wing partisans.

"I've been very blessed in my life to have people who believe in a lot of different points of view," Woods began. "But you know -- I believe that a lot of very good liberals are very patriotic in their own way, a lot of very good conservatives are very patriotic in their own way, I think there are lunatic fringes on both ends, and they are unfortunately the ones that get all the attention."

"And it's really sad, you know? I'm pretty moderate in my view of politics, believe it or not. But people always try to stoke the fire, so to speak. And it's unfair, really, because the rest of us really don't want to listen to this nonsense," he added.

But Woods had strong feelings of what has transpired between Democrats and Republicans, especially with the recent impeachment of Donald Trump.

"I have to say, after this two-year fiasco of this Russian hoax that the Democrats pushed forever, it was sad and embarrassing to watch the Mueller testimony. It was astonishing and sickening to watch the witch hunt against Kavanaugh. And by the third time, it's like a hat-trick with the Democrats, They've just exhausted everybody. This thing is a joke. They're just handing the 2020 election to Trump."