Richard Armitage’s New York Moves Interview Hits the Beltway –

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D.C. Clotheline (  website with lots of ads for guns) This is the full text.For the questions posed to Richard Armitage, click on the link.

In a recent interview with Moves, Richard Armitage (pic above), the British actor who plays Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit, first slams the Republicans for trying to repeal the colossal DISASTER of the Affordable Care Act, better and more appropriately known as Obamacare:

“Republicans are trying to destabilize Obamacare–I think that’s a real shame. I think it’s something to really fight for and I don’t know why they’re doing it, really. But then I come from England where we’ve had a national health service since the Second World War and I think it’s so important. I take it for granted.”

Armitage, being a wealthy actor and therefore one of the privileged, evidently knows nothing about the daily horror stories about his country’s national health service. See, for example, DCG’s post “Hundreds of women may have aborted perfectly healthy babies.”

I see those stories almost every day in the UK’s Daily Mail – about seriously ill people being denied treatment, then die in a matter of days — but don’t post them on FOTM because they’re about the UK.

Then Armitage exclaims, “Oh God, how’ve we got onto politics? I’m an actor, nobody cares about what my politics are.”

But then despite his faux humility, what does he do? He presses on doing EXACTLY what he just decried, to now take on gun control.

He proclaims not just guns, but ammunition, should be illegal in America, his host country:

“I come from a place whereby we’ve never had the right to own a gun. Illegal guns have always been part of the fabric of the subculture in the UK. We’ve had a knife problem with gangs.…The fact that [gun ownership] is in the [U.S.] constitution–that needs to be changed. It’s gonna be almost an impossible task unless it becomes absolutely illegal to own a weapon. Illegal. And I don’t think that’s gonna be possible, so I think it has to be illegal to own the ammunition.“

Armitage, you just lost a fan.

FOREVER.

FOREVER.

The next time some simpering leftie like Richard Armitage sounds off about how there should be gun control in the United States, just ask them these three questions:

55 thoughts on “Richard Armitage’s New York Moves Interview Hits the Beltway –”

  4. The comments on their website are downright scarey! So much for free speech! But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. On second thoughts maybe *I* should keep my comments to myself being a dual Canadian/Uk citizen. I have to say I don’t think I have ever read such vitriolic words used to describe “our” dear man. 😦

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  5. “Daily Mail Reader”. Says it all. And get your facts right, mate: if you read RA’s “political” comments properly you would immediately “get” that he’s not (surprisingly) a “leftie”.

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  6. I wonder whether this is someone who has seen RA on Strike Back, and therefore became a ‘fan’ of his through an action show which features guns (can’t imagine they discovered RA through North & South, somehow) or whether they were just a potential fan who likes to go looking for political opinions from ‘simpering leftie’ actors that they feel are fair game for ridicule.

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  7. I admit that i mostly disagree with most of his opinions. But that is the least of my issues with this interview, and I have a whole list of them – with RA, the interviewer, the editor.
    But speaking of Richard – he is, essentially, a guest in the country, and a pretty new one too. With rare exceptions, this is not a position for voicing criticism of the rules of the house, the hosts, quality of construction etc… Especially when the topics are bviously contentious, and when expressing your opinions is not likely to benefit anyone.
    I know this makes me a crappy fan, but I expected (or rather hoped for) better of him.

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    • He wasn’t criticizing the rules of the “house.” He was expressing opinions on topics that the occupants of the “house”themselves disagree on. He’s not attending a dinner party. The right to expression opinions, which he has in this case, is never premised on whether those opinions “benefit” anyone- and anyway, in this case, there are those who did benefit from his having expressed his opinions, though not in the way I think you mean.And, he was very gracious and complimentary about the city he chose to live in.
      But, I for one don’t think your opinion on this makes you a crappy fan. I don’t think fans have to laud or approve every move and decision he makes. I know I don’t.

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  8. Dear Perry, to me this is not at all about his right to voice his opinion – of course he has the right. It’s rather about the wisdom of doing it, and about that very grace that he displayed when talking about NY. At least he could have expressed his opinions in a softer way.
    For me, the dinner party rules mostly apply. And the fact that his hosts disagree among themselves is not much of an excuse. Should a guest jump into the argument and start taking sides?
    Just imagine an American actor giving an interview in UK, and stating that it’s time to abolish the monarchy, and that the brits should use orthodontists more often….although I’m certain someone has done just that.

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  9. I sometimes get stunned by what people say about people they don’t know anything about. There are such closed minded people out there it is scarey. The ones who believe it’s my way or the highway, oh yea I forgot Mr. 70’s family is that way. After all everyone has opinions and they like ******** everyone has one, Mr. 70 says that all the time. I am sure there will be people dragging this up for awhile. Now I really need to watch TH dvd someday here. There is Dr. Who to watch to on BBCA.

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    • Katie,I just learned of the losses you and Mr.70 suffered – your Dad and his uncle. My thoughts are with you both. I have always found that calling up happy, shared memories of my lost loved ones helps the pain.

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  10. Um, he’s an actor and he’s just displayed an example of foot in mouth disease. My Aussie hubby has it and he has a tendency to forget that I was born and bred in the States. I frequently hear his opinion on American politics and generally his opinion is a lot worse than Richard’s. No one is perfect, no country is perfect, no one is a 100% clued in to the politics/culture of all the countries in the world and we have all said really really silly things when we should have kept our mouths shut. People whine because he is so private and then they whine again when he is not. Enjoy the characters that be brings to us and admire the way he looks, but
    as for the real Richard Armitage, I think we should just cut him some slack, move on and leave him be.

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  11. Anyone who cites the Daily Mail as evidence of issues in the UK immediately loses all credibility! One of the biggest issues in the UK IS the Daily Mail. Personally, I’d be one of the first people to point the finger at the NHS but I wouldn’t be without it for all the tea in China! And I love tea! 😉

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  12. Where on earth did you…”unearth” this?

    The comments there – “Hollywood is a center of evil and subversion” and “We booted these Limey prigs out once, may have to do it again.”

    Woah. It’s both hysterical and frightening. Such a nasty response from her readership overall. I lack the comprehension and understanding behind this kind of hate and vitriol. KiplingKat seems to be willing and wanting to take them all head-on. Not sure it’s worth it, but good on her to attempt a balance.

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  13. it’s easy to attack someone who you know is very unlikely to strike back (no pun intended 😉 ) that’s how bullies survive. I have MANY answers to that first question alone, not to mention the other two; but I don’t need to feed my ego by putting someone else and their views down, just to raise me and what I think up. let the playground bullies wrestle in the dirt 🙄

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    • I couldn’t agree more. And I regret ( just a little) contributing to their traffic. Even if one had the same ideology, I doubt that forum is one he or she would choose.

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      • I’m glad you pointed it out though, I’ve been waiting for someone of that caliber to attack Richard for what he said. I don’t think it was the smartest move Richard has made, but I think he had every right to say it, especially within the context of that particular situation. I don’t agree with the thought that he shouldn’t share his views because he is only a guest in this country though, that statement (that has been said a lot in regards to this situation) really gets under my skin.

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        • I disagree with the “you’re a guest here,” argument also – but I don’t think it was a bad move to express his opinions. I don’t think it’ll have any effect on him at all, unless he has a really thin skin and can’t take the criticism. It will be interesting to see whether he shies away from future remarks like that or does it again if given a chance.

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          • The real gain for me, fwiw, is that the previous times he said anything that caused this much uproar in the fandom (and the uproars were smaller because the fandom was smaller), he actually mentioned it in a message or referred to it in an interview, backing off or apologizing in some way for a misunderstanding. This time he hasn’t! I’m so happy! It means either he’s stopped looking OR he’s decided to stick with his guns, and either way the fact that we haven’t heard a pullback of any kind from him anywhere makes me thrillled!

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        • I wonder why the ‘guest’ argument ticks people off. Even his type of visa is colloquially called ‘guest visa’, or ‘visitor visa’. He definitely has the right to speak out, i don’t think anyone disputes that. But we should, and do, base our behavior on so much more than just our rights!

          Then there is a matter of tone. Not many people would appreciate a guest (who is not a close friend) in their house saying “I can’t believe you still have that curtain. Everybody else threw them away 30 years ago! It’s so 70s, and it’s horrible” . But “you know, you might consider a softer color for the curtain” would go across much better.

          Sorry, i’ll desist now. This horse is dead.

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          • The problem with the guest metaphor is this:

            A guest is a guest in someone’s house. A guest has a host. A host also has obligations. It’s a reciprocal relationship.

            There’s an interesting story, quite probably apocryphal, about how a guest at a state dinner in England drank from a fingerbowl. Everyone was flustered until the hostess picked up her fingerbowl and drank from it as well.

            As many references to Armitage as guest as I’ve read this week, I’ve read no discussion of us as his host(esse)s.

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          • If I’m a guest at a dinner party and the other participants are having a discussion about the interior design of the house and have encouraged me to join in the conversation, am I only expected to tell them what they want to hear? I felt that Richard was not rude in the way he expressed his opinions, I did not find his tone the same as bluntly saying the hostess has horribly bad taste. the implication that it is rude to express negative opinions about America if you are not American, feels very elitist to me 😕

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    • I only read the first question. Personally, I don’ think the question helps their position. But I agree, it’s too tiring and useless to discuss.

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  14. For some reason I feel much better,Perry…I thought that only in my country exists that type of frightening people.
    If I may add something, I think that Chris Rock has perfect solution of said problem 😉

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  15. Good on you Richard. I totally concur with his thoughts. In fact, they are so ubiquitous and entirely unsurprising for a Brit, I wouldn’t have anticipated such a reaction.

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    • Welcome MCQ. We had lots of discussion about this when the original article came out. I’ve come to learn in my 6 or 7 months of fandom – expect huge reactions to everything. As far as I can tell, and I’m not everywhere, I saw one article on Yahoo movies about the interview that just repeated the original, and this one. I think Servetus is probably correct that the original author of the right wing article probably found the New York Moves Mag article because he or she had a notification out for Richard L. Armitage, the politician, and this came through, ( MorrighansMuse found the original, Dirty Laundry was a reblog). So the reaction to this has been pretty much limited to fans of Richard Armitage and also Tolkine fans who saw learned about the article through The One Ring Net

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  16. Hey everyone.I’m going to close comments now because I’m out of replies to this. If you haven’t already, then watch the video of Chris Rock that Joanna embedded above.I’d forgotten about it – whichever side you’re on, I think you’ll laugh. Truth be told, I expected a few comments on this, poking some fun at Dirty Laundry, the ads on the website and so forth – not on the issue we already exhausted – Though I note there were a few first time commentators here. So, thanks to all, especially newbies,whatever your opinions and drop by again. Have a great Sunday, Perry

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