Sons of Anarchy actor Ron Perlman reminded Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz that as an actor, he only played a white supremacist on the show and is not one in real life. In a series of back-and-forth tweets Sunday, Gaetz attempted to call out Perlman for being a “social justice warrior” who had “no problem” playing a white supremacist on the FX series. Perlman said it was true, he enjoys “playing a—holes” on television.
On Saturday afternoon, Perlman voiced support for the national U.S. Soccer Team, which said it will allow players to protest police brutality and racial inequality by kneeling during the National Anthem. President Donald Trump has opposed this, as does Gaetz. “The US Soccer team called and you guessed it… said they couldn’t give any less of a f— about what you two dips— think,” Perlman wrote. Since the actor tagged Gaetz, he was likely waiting in the wings for a response from the Florida Republican. Gaetz did just that.
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“This racial justice warrior had no problem in Hollywood portraying the White Supremacist leader of a motorcycle gang,” Gaetz wrote. “Yessir, so true! So rewarding playing a—holes on tv. Tell me sir, how is it actually being one?” Perlman responded. Gaetz then claimed he saw Perlman’s response as a “badge of honor,” writing, “You wouldn’t be tweeting about me if my message weren’t true & effective. Threatens your wokeness.”
Of course, this was not going to be the end of the conversation for Perlman. “Speaking of Woke Matty, do you think it’s just Hollywood that thinks you’re an a—hole? Read the comments, I’ll wait,” Perlman wrote. “And while we’re at it f—boi, what is this shit about playing your crowd with dog whistles like ‘Hollywood,’ making them think culture is the thing that’s keeping them down? When it’s really you and your greed.”
Perlman, one of Hollywood’s most prolific character actors, starred on Sons of Anarchy as Clay Morrow in the show’s first six seasons before the character was killed. The actor has been a longtime critic of Trump and the Republican Party on Twitter, and never sanitizes his language. Just before tweeting about the U.S. Soccer team, Perlman fired off a tweet urging people to vote in November. “For four terrible years, the president has promoted racism and police brutality. For the past two weeks the people have marched in protest of crimes done with his encouragement,” he wrote. “Let’s keep it up until Nov 3 when we march his racist a— the f— right out of our sights!”
Last week, the U.S. Soccer Federation voted to overturn a rule requiring both men and women players to stand during the National Anthem. The rule was only created in 2017 in response to Megan Rapinoe, who voiced support for NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. After the change, Trump said he would refuse to watch any U.S. soccer games. Gaetz also tweeted he would “rather the US not have a soccer team than have a soccer team that won’t stand for the National Anthem.”
