Is Press Turning on Hollywood Hypocrites?

Celebrity hypocrisy hardly deserves a breaking news chyron.

Both Bill Maher and Joe Rogan recently called out stars for demanding strict gun control while promoting films that glamorize gun violence.

Russell Brand noted how Hollywood mocked President Donald Trump and his merry band of election deniers but insisted Trump didn’t win fair and square in 2016.

Piers Morgan said the same industry aghast at Will Smith slapping an Oscar presenter had no problem giving an admitted child molester a standing ovation not so long ago.

Stars routinely ignore what they preach, most notably when it comes to Climate Change. The industry has collectively produced dozens of films warning us what could happen when we soil Mother Earth.

“An Inconvenient Truth” may be the biggest example, but we’ve seen other documentaries warning us about rising temperatures, including 2007’s “The 11th Hour.” Fictional stories abound, too, that caution us against excessive carbon use. Movies like “Snowpiercer” and “Don't Look Up” suggest the consequences of Climate Change gone awry.

Does anyone remember 2004’s "The Day After Tomorrow," the goofiest entry in this eco sub-genre?

And that doesn’t count the endless lectures, from both awards show stages and social media platforms, demanding we reduce our carbon footprint … while the stars keep living large.

The foreign press has been more willing to call out this hypocrisy, with the right-leaning Daily Mail leading the charge. 

Still, for a very long time U.S.-based news outlets looked the other way as eco-hypocrites like Leonardo DiCaprio wagged their fingers at us before boarding their super yachts or fleeing via the fanciest private jets money can buy.

Is this starting to change?

We recently saw headlines shaming stars for gulping up too much water in drought-infested California. The stars in question weren’t eco-warriors, per se, but their actions caught heat from journalists who normally look away when celebrities live unlike the rest of us.

The L.A. Times pounced, and seized, on the matter, targeting Kevin Hart and Kim Kardashian in the process.

BuzzFeed News joined the fray, and its report drew a defensive reply from Sylvester Stallone.

The Hollywood Reporter tagged some of these stars for their water sins while adding a fresh (for the liberal site) wrinkle. These celebrities are also hurting the fight against Climate Change.

Between excessive water use during California's drought and using private jets to fly short distances, some of Hollywood's biggest names are coming under fire for ignoring the ongoing climate crisis.

We even learned from the press about superstar director Steven Spielberg’s private jet use, something he likely has been doing for far longer than the current news cycle. Spielberg, for the record, wants to warn us about Climate Change, too.

To quote “Die Hard” hero John McClane, “Welcome to the party, pal!”

Climate Change is hardly a new problem. We’ve been warned for years, nay decades, about the impact it may have on the planet. And, for all of that time, many celebrities haven’t practiced what they preach. (Ed Begley, Jr. of “Living with Ed” fame may be the biggest exception)

They’ve gotten away with it, too, thanks to reporters happy to look the other way.

Did that suddenly change?

In 2014 a new media reporter asked “Avengers” star Mark Ruffalo about his friend DiCaprio’s eco-hypocrisy during a climate march protest. The actor nearly turned Hulk green with anger.

“Anyone who attacks Leonardo DiCaprio is either a coward or an ideologue,

Would Ruffalo share that hostile answer today, especially if august outlets like The Hollywood Reporter asked him a similar query?

The bigger question? What made journalists who otherwise protect liberal stars from their blinding hypocrisy, suddenly do their jobs?