There's taking lemons and making lemonade, and then there's trying to polish a you-know-what.
We're inclined to believe that Jessica Chastain is doing the latter. The star of Miss Sloane has told The EDIT that, despite supporting Hillary Clinton during the election, she's taking an optimistic approach to Donald Trump's win. As she sees it, Trump could be a good thing for the feminist movement.
“I think [Trump] being so popular is really an example of why feminism is so important,” she told the fashion magazine. “Unbeknownst to him, he is bringing it all to the forefront, and I am very grateful for him in doing that. You have to look at the world in a positive way otherwise you just want to cry.”
To clarify, that statement was made before the election, after which the actress posted on social media that she might "throw up." Chastain made it clear in the interview that she was Team HRC.
"If [Hillary] wins by a landslide, that tells the world that we are a country that doesn’t support racism, sexism, or any other -ism, and we’re actually taking a huge stand against it,” she explained. Oh, if only.
It's unfair to paint Chastain as a Trump apologist, but her comments about being "grateful" to the president-elect are genuinely confusing. Trump's comments about grabbing women have indeed fired up feminists and inspired many to stand up for women's rights. Does that mean we need to be "grateful" to him? Should the LGBT community be "grateful" to Mike Pence for his homophobic track record? It's insulting to even consider that.
Maybe Chastain's just hedging her bets so she can get an invite to the Trump White House. Maybe her comments were taken out of context. But for countless people, sexism, racism, and homophobia aren't new issues. We'll be grateful when we get an elected official who puts out the fire, not someone who pours gasoline on the flames.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT