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"Should I hate her because she's downstream of all of these voices that are telling her that he's Hitler and the people who vote for him are Nazis?" the actor says of his "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" co-star, while also reacting to people no longer wanting to work with him due to his controversial views.
Zachary Levi is opening up about the criticism he has received over his decision to support President Donald Trump -- along with his other controversial views.
In a wide-ranging interview with Variety, published on Thursday, the actor addressed being hit with backlash from his former co-stars, including his Shazam! Fury of the Gods co-star Rachel Zegler.
Following the 2024 presidential election, Zegler, 24, called out Trump voters on her Instagram, writing in part, "May Trump supporters … never know peace." Although she didn't refer to Levi, 44, his support of Trump put him in that category.
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View Story"I am one of those people, obviously," Levi told Variety. "But I think that we have got to recognize that a lot of times people's decisions are predicated upon the bad information that they’re being fed on a regular basis."
"So should I hate her because she's downstream of all of these voices that are telling her that he's Hitler and the people who vote for him are Nazis?" he continued, referring to critics often comparing the Trump administration to fascism.
"She's a really talented girl, and I do think that she wants the best for the world deep down," Levi added of Zegler.
The Shazam star -- who has received backlash for voting for Trump and his MAHA views, including his infamous remarks about the COVID vaccine -- went on to share his thoughts on people who no longer want to work with him on projects due to his views.
"I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions. My team has let me know," he said. "They haven't given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it's unfortunate. I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn't make this decision blindly or casually."
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Zachary Levi Addresses Trump Support, His Team's Reaction to Endorsement and Hollywood Backlash
View StoryHowever, Levi expressed that he believes there are "a lot of people" who are conservative in Hollywood and want to work with him because of his views.
"While there are some people who might prefer not to work with me anymore, there’s a lot of people on that side of the political spectrum who are even more inclined to hire me and to want to do business with me because 'I need some people who voted another way,'" he told Variety. "They see that what I did was at great risk. And they were like, "You know what? I give you a lot of props for that because that’s not an easy thing to do.’ And I go, ‘I appreciate that.'"
Before he rallied behind Trump ahead of the election, the Chuck alum initially endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who went on to become the Secretary of Health and Human Services in Trump's cabinet.
"I was not a fan of Trump’s Trumpiness," Levi recalled to Variety. "I didn't like a lot of these personal things, the ways that he carries himself a lot of the time. I understand people’s aversion. Do I think the whole package is somehow perfect? No. In fact, most people who voted for Donald Trump recognize a lot of the imperfections in all of it. Nobody was saying, 'This is the Orange Messiah.'"
The Tangled star -- who explained that he has "conversation views" and "more liberal views," reiterating his support for the gay community -- admitted that he "could be getting bamboozled right now, putting my trust into leaders that I helped to get elected."
