A spokesperson for Chris Pratt denies the 41-year-old actor posted the bigoted tweets which allegedly resurfaced earlier today, TMZ reports.
"Chris never tweeted the offensive things that are being circulated today. Any suggestion that he did is not only totally false but also defamatory," the rep said. TMZ also received word from a senior executive for Twitter that they "strongly believe these [tweets] to be fake."
The statement from Pratt's rep comes after #ripchrispratt started trending on Twitter in response to these alleged messages that were racist and sexist in nature, and dated as far back as 2012. It appears the only tweet making the rounds that is actually real is the one below.
If you have kept somewhat close tabs on Pratt's career, then you probably know that this isn't the first time that the Internet has tried to "cancel" him. The Guardians of the Galaxy star fell out of favor in the eyes of some following his divorce in 2017 from wife of eight years, Anna Faris.
In a profile for Men's Journal that same year, Pratt expressed a desire to toe the line regarding his political ties. "I really feel there’s common ground out there that’s missed because we focus on the things that separate us. You’re either the red state or the blue state, the left or the right. Not everything is politics," he said. "And maybe that’s something I’d want to help bridge, because I don’t feel represented by either side."
Many have suspected that Pratt leans conservative, pointing to his Instagram account, where he reportedlyfollowed a number of notable Republican names, such as FOX News host Bret Baier, and politicians Ben Sasse, and Dan Crenshaw. Suspicions grew when his name wasn't among the Avengers attached to a fundraiser in support of Joe Biden prior to the presidential election. Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo, however, came to his defense, saying, he "was not asked to participate because he was halfway across the world in the wrong time zone." Pratt was filming Jurassic World: Dominion in the UK at the time.
In 2019, Elliot Page called out Pratt for reportedly being a member of Hillsong Church in Los Angeles, which he accused of being anti-LGTBQ. "It has recently been suggested that i belong to a church which 'hates a certain group of people' and is 'infamously anti-LGBTQ," Pratt responded. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone."
"My faith is important to me but no church defines me or my life, and I am not a spokesman for any group of people," Pratt concluded. "My values define who I am. We need less hate in this world, not more. I am a man who believes that everyone is entitled to love who they want free from the judgment of their fellow man."
