Molly Ringwald, a former member of the infamous 80s “Brat Pack”, and star of the penultimate 80s movie, “The Breakfast Club,” had some interesting comments about the #metoo movement and cancel culture in a recent interview.
Ringwald decried the current culture in America as “unsustainable” as she talked to the Guardian about Harvey Weinstein, cancel culture, her career, and how we are ‘basically a bunch of Puritans.’ Via Fox News: “a lot of people have gotten swept up in ‘cancelation,’ and I worry about that,” she told the Guardian. “It’s unsustainable, in a way. Some people have been unfairly canceled, and they don’t belong in the same category as somebody like Harvey Weinstein.”
“What it ends up doing is make people roll their eyes,” she continued. “That’s my worry. I do want things to change, for real. Workplaces should be places where everyone can feel safe – not just in Hollywood, but everywhere. Particularly Americans. We can never do things incrementally; we’re so binary, so all or nothing. We’re basically a bunch of puritans.”
"We're basically a bunch of puritans." Get more of Molly Ringwald's view on cancel culture. https://t.co/cjgSC8R8a2 pic.twitter.com/BKaPC3Hq3N
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 25, 2023
She is spot-on with her statement that Americans can’t just ease into anything. There are always shades of gray, but the deeper we get into the Biden administration, the more the left divides the country.
Ringwald, who gained fame with roles in “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink,” and “Sixteen Candles,” said she didn’t “feel comfortable” with the level of stardom she had at the time, which likely led to her departure from Hollywood and subsequent relocation to Europe.
Despite her massive success at the time, Ringwald didn’t relate to the characters she portrayed. She attempted to change her image and garner more mature roles, but after the abject disaster of “Fresh Horses,” where she played a Kentucky bumpkin mixed up with an older, sophisticated rich guy, she faded from the zeitgeist.
She continued to the Guardian via Fox News: “It’s hard to grow up under that. I don’t want to overdo this – and boohoo, I fully recognize my privilege – but I needed to get out from under all that scrutiny. Some people are really good at it. Taylor Swift is amazing! But I didn’t feel comfortable with that level of stardom. I was projected as this perfect, sweet American girl next door. Which wasn’t me, but I was figuring out who I was, too,” she said. “I was pretty young.”
While Ringwald longed for more serious roles, she also made some huge career mistakes. She didn’t get the role in the Harrison Ford movie “Working Girl,” and she passed on “Pretty Woman,” the role that shot Julia Roberts to superstardom.
Ringwald continued: “Julia Roberts was wonderful in it, but I didn’t really like the story,” she explained. “Even then, I felt like there was something icky about it.”
Even though she is no longer a superstar, Molly Ringwald has learned from a career and life full of mistakes and privileges, and missed opportunities. She has emerged as an advocate for common sense and a harsh critic of cancel culture. Maybe leaving Hollywood would benefit more celebrities like it has Molly Ringwald.
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