While a plethora of celebrities—Alyssa Milano, George Clooney, and Danny DeVito, to name a few—have made no secret of their support for Democrats and left-leaning political candidates, the right isn’t without its Hollywood supporters either.
Most recently, it’s Kanye West who’s been the most outspoken A-list supporter of Trump but Kristy Swanson, the actress famous for originating the role of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the eponymous 1992 film, seems poised to give West a run for his money in terms of passionate support for the right.
Swanson’s Twitter and Instagram accounts are a minefield of far-right-informed political hot takes—in a tweet from August 23, in the wake of the Mollie Tibbetts murder, she ponders, “Why do Liberals [sic] say calling someone an ‘Illegal Alien’ is racist and offensive?” In a previous tweet, Swanson wondered why people called her an “immigrant hater.”
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A Twitter photo from a few days before her immigrant tweet shows Swanson proudly sporting a shirt with an image of an assault rifle on the front, the words “American Trigger Pullers” emblazoned underneath. And in an Instagram post from August, Swanson wears a shirt that says “Make America Not A Bunch of Whiny Bitches Again.” Her caption links back to the far-right apparel company American Trigger Pullers, who ostensibly designed her clever T-shirt.
Swanson’s cause célèbre, at least on social media, seems to be mocking the #MeToo movement, especially as it relates to politics. Memes posted on her Instagram— complete with cartoon characters wearing the ubiquitous pink pussy hats—lampoon the “not my president” logic of many feminist protests.
And Swanson frequently reposts or retweets actor turned far-right crusader James Woods. In one tweet of his that she posted to her Instagram, Woods bemoans the “#HowlingHarpies” continually disrupting the Kavanaugh hearings—a misogynistic epithet for feminist protestors, but one that Swanson seems glad is trending on Twitter.
Swanson mostly takes issue with the sexual-assault allegations currently being leveled at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by a number of women. She retweeted a protester present during the hearings, and asked “exactly what rights of ‘women’ would Kavanaugh be taking away?” if he was confirmed; meanwhile, a tweet from September 19 saw Swanson saying “Screw you, bitches” to the Women’s March Twitter page. In a tweet from August, Swanson stated, “Woman have ALL the power. We decide Everything, when to eat dinner, go to sleep, wake up, date, have sex, get married, when we will have babies, go to school, go to work & have careers, play sports, run for office & even for potus. What’s with the victim train? #WomenHaveItAll.”
Since we’ve apparently achieved gender parity, Swanson sees no need for the “false” allegations against Kavanaugh. Tweets and retweets of hers frequently call into question Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s credibility, and maintain that Kavanaugh is innocent. Swanson is a big fan of the hashtag #WomenForKavanaugh, and seems determined to use her platform as a washed-up celebrity turned right-wing supporter to draw attention to the Supreme Court nominee’s supposed innocence. “He deserves to be treated fairly!” she tweeted, adding, “I do believe it’s very possible that something has happened to Dr. Ford at some point of her life, and if that’s true, I do feel for her. I do believe without question Kavanaugh is a victim of False Allegations & had Nothing to do with her assault. I pray for them both.” Swanson seems to think that false rape accusations are a pervasive and dangerous threat to society—not, you know, toxic masculinity or rape culture or anything like that.
For those wondering if Swanson’s far-right tendencies were a relatively new thing, think again. In response to a tweet earlier this summer accusing her of riding the far-right wave for another fifteen minutes of fame, Swanson replied, “I’ve actually been a conservative all my life. I was raised that way. Since the 70’s. I was on the Trump train before he ran for office.”
And as recently as yesterday, Swanson reaffirmed her political leanings were hardly a trend. “I’ve been MAGA since 1969… I was born this way,” she tweeted, complete with kissy face and American flag emojis.
