Billy Bob Thornton slams celebrities for turning Hollywood award shows into political stages

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Billy Bob Thornton recently spoke out against celebrities who turn award shows into platforms for political or social causes.

The 70-year-old actor told 'The Joe Rogan Experience' that he no longer cares about contemporary award ceremonies.

Billy Bob Thornton says awards were real once, now just pontificating

Thornton said he doesn’t value awards anymore, claiming he won most of his accolades “under the wire, when awards were kind of real still."

He regards modern ceremonies cynically, saying, “Go over here and, you know, have some dry chicken breast and green beans, you know, and we’ll listen to people get up there and pontificate about how awesome they are.”

He added that if someone is “truly honored by it,” the time on stage should be used to “honor the people who gave it to you,” not to campaign for a cause. “There is a time and place for that,” he said, adding that during award shows, “you should just stick to what it is.”

Billy Bob Thornton tells celebrities to save badgers themselves

The actor mocked the trend of using the stage for activism: “Don’t go up there and talk about saving the badgers in Wisconsin or something, you know what I’m saying?”

He acknowledged that celebrities use their fame as a platform — “Everybody knows me. This is a great platform for me to put this out there.” But Thornton offered a blunt response: “Well, how about this? If you have a billion dollars, and you want to save the badgers, f*****g save them." 

He added that stars have “plenty of money to save the badgers, trust me. That’s barely gonna cut into your budget.”

Host Joe Rogan agreed, suggesting that some celebrities use the stage mainly “to let everybody know that you’re an amazing person."

Music background helped Thornton handle Hollywood fame

Thornton’s rise to fame came with his 1996 movie 'Sling Blade', which earned him an Academy Award for Best Writing and an acting nomination.

He reflected on that timing in a November 2024 interview, saying he was glad success came later in life. “If I had been nominated for an Academy Award when I was 21, who knows what I would have done with it?” he said.

“I think if it had happened when I was 18 or 21, who knows if I’d even be here now because I was a little bit looser back in those days.” Thornton credited his early years in music for helping him adjust to Hollywood fame: “Growing up as a musician helped me prepare for it because we could be local or regional heroes. But this was a big blast.”