On Saturday, September 24, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and political ‘activist’ John Cusack took to Twitter to hail Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi, who has embarked on a ‘Bharat Jodo’ (join India) yatra in a fleet of containers where he is travelling across India with other Congress leaders and supporters ahead of 2024 general elections.
“Indian parliament member Rahul Gandhi is walking to Kashmir – from Kerala -“, the American actor’s Tweet filled with adulation for the Congress leader read.
Indian parliament member Rahul Gandhi is walking to Kashmir – from Kerala –
— John Cusack (@johncusack) September 23, 2022
In yet another gimmick ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with his other party members and workers embarked on a 3,570-km march on Wednesday (September 7). Dubbed ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Rahul Gandhi and 118 other Congress leaders are planning to walk 22-23 km daily in two batches, one from 7 am – 10:30 am and again from 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm.
However, here it becomes imperative to note that this supposed ‘foot march’ is also accompanied by a convoy of 59 containers. The luxurious containers are equipped with air conditioners and modern amenities. One of them has even been turned into a mini-conference hall. Rahul Gandhi, the leader spearheading the padyatra, has a container to himself.
Cusack, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS, overlooked all of these facts, for obvious reasons, and went on to applaud the Congress prince for ‘walking’ from Kerala to Kashmir. This prompted some Twitter users to speculate if Cusack’s tweet was paid.
How much for a tweet, John?
— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) September 24, 2022
Alert : This Tweet is Paid ! https://t.co/CL9MFgqRTL
— भारत माता का बेटा 🇮🇳 SON OF BHARAT MATA 🇮🇳 (@BharatMatakBeta) September 24, 2022
One Twitter user mocked Cusack by asking how much Rahul Gandhi paid him for the tweet.
How much are you paid by Rahul Gandhi?? https://t.co/fM0djgbHSd
— Hardik Bhavsar (@Bitt2DA) September 24, 2022
Others criticised the American actor, noting problematic statements and controversies he has been involved in the past.
Long story. pic.twitter.com/UrCBfEGlbc
— MochaMan 🚩🇮🇳🚩 (@Baba_Mocha) September 24, 2022
John Cosack and his disparaging remarks against India and PM Modi
John Cusack, Twitter’s self-described “apocalyptic s**t disturber,” is well-known for his controversial beliefs and statements. The American actor is also a vocal critic of PM Modi. Despite having no business commenting on India’s internal affairs, Cusack has never shied away from criticising the BJP government at the centre and the Indian Prime Minister.
Last year, sharing a report by the leftist news website The Caravan about groups in the US linked to the RSS once backing Democrat Tulsi Gabbard in her bid for the party’s presidential nomination, the far-left actor tweeted, “Hope modi goes the way of Trump sooner or later.”
Hope modi goes the way of Trump sooner or later https://t.co/iPZ90hb1Jl
— John Cusack (@johncusack) January 20, 2021
Much like the Indian coterie of ‘liberals’ and leftists who take great delight in discrediting India globally and do not hesitate to fabricate and distort news denigrating Modi and his government, Cusack, too, has indulged in exploiting incidents like the 2022 Karnataka Burqa row, the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots, the anti-CAA violence, the farmer’s protest etc to attack the Modi government.
Recently, when the Hijab controversy erupted in Karnataka, the American actor tweeted, “Fascists versus a lone Muslim woman in Karnataka, India. Looks like the same kind of fascism spreading everywhere.” He shared a tweet by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, wherein he exploited the Hijab row and play the victim card.
Fascists versus a lone Muslim woman in Karnataka, India.
— John Cusack (@johncusack) February 8, 2022
Looks like the same kind of fascism spreading everywhere –https://t.co/blNyNLP7o7
During the Delhi riots last year, which coincided with Donald Trump’s visit to India, Cusack referred to the violence as “fascism”. He had tweeted “This is fascism – while trump modi declare they themselves the state – Delhi burns Savage crackdown widens – no achievable goal except humiliation and terror…”
This is fascism – while trump modi declare they themselves the state – Delhi burns
— John Cusack (@johncusack) February 25, 2020
Savage crackdown widens – no achievable goal except humiliation and terror –@IndiaAboriginal: @LastWeekTonight See what happened in India @LastWeekTonight @johncusack pic.twitter.com/fd3FSVUS2m”
In 2020, Cusack took a jibe at PM Modi by sharing his image and Nazi ruler Hitler side-by-side. Though he did not title his post, it was clear that he was attempting to equate the two. The post was published at a time when the left-liberals were disseminating false propaganda and indulging in fear-mongering as the centre announced the implementation of the historic Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
— John Cusack (@johncusack) January 4, 2020
The actor had also retweeted several reports of the violence in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in 2020. To bolster his anti-Modi crusade, he even retweeted a statement by Rahul Gandhi in which the Congress leader said, “The brutal attack on JNU students & teachers by masked thugs, that has left many seriously injured, is shocking. The fascists in control of our nation, are afraid of the voices of our brave students. Today’s violence in JNU is a reflection of that fear.
In 2019, John Cusack also extended solidarity with “Muslim brothers and sisters of the Jamia Millia Islamia University” whom he claimed were ‘brutalised’ by Modi. He had tweeted a quote by Arundhati Roy and posted the message, “Stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters and students in solidarity being brutalized by Modi.”
Stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters and students in solidarity being brutalized by modi pic.twitter.com/aPEFOcexsw
— John Cusack (@johncusack) December 16, 2019
In May 2019, Cusack tweeted Modi was “like Trump but a far smarter therefore more dangerous…”. Cusack had tweeted, “Modi – from India ? – the rss guy – who literally was trained up by open fascists- who over Gujarat ( spelling?) assacres- he’s like trump but a far smarter therefore more dangerous strain of kitsch.”
The American actor has on several occasions expressed his adulation for anti-India propagandist Arundhati Roy. In fact, in the year 2020, Cusack told the media, “I Have Gotten To Know India Through Arundhati Roy’s Eyes”. When IANS asked about his understanding of India, Cusack said: “I’ve been there a few times and I have a great friendship with (author) Arundhati Roy.”
Apart from interfering in India’s internal affairs, the American actor turned ‘activist’ has been a vocal critic of former US President Donald Trump. On several occasions, the actor has gone on to compare Trump with Hitler. In fact, ahead of the US presidential elections, John Cusack had said that he will no longer speak to anybody who is not “aggressively anti-Trump.”
The actor had taken to Twitter to assert that he would be blocking anyone who isn’t entirely opposed to Donald Trump ahead of the forthcoming US presidential election.
“I’m blocking anyone who isn’t aggressively anti trump untill election is over,” Cusack wrote. “Sorry, no time for your BS.”
In another tweet, Cusack said he was “done permanently” with those who supported the current president. “I’m sure you’ve all been through it with some family co workers – or friends,” he said.
“Those who cannot see or choose not to see what [Trump] is, we are done talking – permanently.”
I’m sure you’ve all been through it with some family co workers – or friends.
— John Cusack (@johncusack) September 29, 2020
Those who cannot see or choose not to see what trunp is – we are done talking – permanently
John Cusack irks fans with his anti-semitic tweet
In fact, the actor’s timeline has been relentlessly problematic. In 2019, the American actor was in the eyes of the storm for retweeting an anti-Semitic meme.
The inflammatory tweet, which has since been deleted, showed a black-and-white cartoon showing a gigantic hand smashing a multitude of feeble-looking individuals beneath it, with a blue Star of David imposed on the sleeve.
A remark ascribed to 18th-century French philosopher Voltaire accompanied the image, “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” The phrase’s origin can be traced to white nationalist and neo-Nazi Kevin Alfred Strom.
Cusack had apparently retweeted the offensive Tweet with a caption that read, “Follow the money.” Cusack was met with backlash from fans and followers who identified the blatant anti-Semitic connotation in the image.
At first, Cusack claimed he tweeted the image to criticise an Israeli military action. However, after several rounds of clarification and justifications, Cusack had ultimately conceded the original retweet was indeed anti-Semitic.
When the American actor called Hollywood a ‘whorehouse’
John Cusack, best known for his roles in epic films such as Say Anything, Better Off Dead, Bullets Over Broadway, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, and many more, took a break from acting in 2016 and sold all of his properties in California, including his Malibu home, which he purchased in 1999, and returned to his home state of Illinois.
Even during his stint in Hollywood prior to him taking a break in 2016, the actor made several very controversial statements, which may have attributed to his career’s decline during the last decade.
In fact in 2014, in an interview with The Guardian about his involvement in the Hollywood satire Map to the Stars, John Cusack went on to call Hollywood a ‘whorehouse’ while opinioning how bizarre and terrifying the world of Hollywood can be.
“The culture just eats young actors up and spits them out. It’s a hard thing to survive without finding safe harbor. It’s a whorehouse and people go mad,” the actor had said.
The actor cum ‘activist’ interviews Edward Snowden, the former intelligence consultant who leaked classified data from the NSA
John Cusack is known to be an outspoken social and political activist. In 2010, a controversy erupted after Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal all stopped taking payments from Wikileaks. The notion that large payment organisations could inflict such a blow to Wikileaks in order to silence an unpopular arm of the press irritated many individuals, including Cusack. As a result, they established the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
In line with his ‘activism’, he travelled to Russia in 2014 with novelist Arundhati Roy and economist Daniel Ellsberg to interview Edward Snowden, the former NSA consultant and data privacy advocate who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency and was forced to flee the country.
