In 2010, actor Zachary Levi became a beloved member of the Disney family when he starred as the voice of Flynn Rider in the animated film, Tangled. Levi’s thief with a good heart captivated audiences, and they loved the retelling of Rapunzel’s classic tale. The movie was so popular that Levi returned to voice Flynn Rider in many Disney projects, including the Disney Tangled video game, the short film Tangled Ever After (2012), the TV movie Tangled: Before Ever After (2017), the television miniseries Tangled: Short Cuts, and Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure series.
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In 2019, Levi crossed over into the superhero universe when he starred as Shazam in the DC blockbuster Shazam!. The film was a moderate box office success, making more than $350 million at the box office. It looked like Levi’s career was skyrocketing, but things took a turn after his sequel film, Shazam! Fury of the Gods tanked.
Things only got worse for the actor when he decided to jump into the political discussion and share his highly controversial views. He openly voiced his support for President Donald Trump, after at first supporting Robert Kennedy Jr. in his presidential run. He said that he was raised in a Conservative Christian household and had a deep distrust of the government.
While his support of Donald Trump did split fans, it was his later actions that really caused people to turn their backs on him.
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In October 2024, the Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024) star falsely claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine had killed Broadway star Gavin Creel. In a rambling Instagram Live video, Levi claimed that Creel — who had been fighting a cancer battle — had been forced to get the vaccine if he wanted to continue to perform on Broadway. He claimed that the vaccine turned Mr. Creel’s cancer into a “turbo cancer”. Mr. Levi did not offer any science-based evidence to back up his claim.
Two months later, actress Laura Benanti, who starred alongside both Zachary Levi and Gavin Creel in the award-winning Broadway show, She Loves Me, raged against Levi’s claims. She said that she never liked him and that he “sucked up” all of the energy in the room. She bashed Levi for using Mr. Creel’s death to push how own agenda and lies.
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It now seems that Ms. Benanti is not the only one who never wants to work with Levi again.
According to a report from Variety, Mr. Levi has claimed that a lot of people don’t want to work with him, because of his support for Donald Trump and his views on the vaccine.
“I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions. My team has let me know,” he says as he nods in the direction of Beverly Hills, where his agents at UTA are headquartered. “They haven’t given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it’s unfortunate. I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn’t make this decision blindly or casually.”
Levi also said that while Hollywood, on the whole, is typically more liberal, his outspokenness has actually inspired some actors to want to work with him more. He did not specify who it was that wanted to work with him.
Levi currently has a number of projects in the works. Not Without Hope and Sarah’s Oil are both completed and set to be released this year. Hotel Tehran is currently listed as “In Production”, and Free Fall and Undercover are listed as being in “Pre-Production”.
Do you think Zachary Levi overstepped when he commented on the COVID-19 vaccine killing Gavin Creel? Can you understand why a lot of people do not want to work with him anymore? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
The post Disney Star Says No One Will Work With Him After Supporting Donald Trump appeared first on Inside the Magic.
