Katherine Schwarzenegger defends husband Chris Pratt after he's accused of not getting political

Katherine Schwarzenegger and Chris Pratt on the red carpet
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
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Katherine Schwarzenegger has defended her husband Chris Pratt who has been criticised online for his lack of political engagement in the run up to the US Presidential election.

The 30-year-old author and wife of the Guardians of the Galaxy star took to social media to defend the actor after he was branded “Hollywood’s Worst Chris” online over his apparent refusal to get political ahead of the vote on November 3.

The daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, 30, who has a two-month old child, Lyla, with the star responded to an E! News Instagram post about the story.

“Is this really what we need? There’s so much going on in the world and people are struggling in so many ways,” Schwarzenegger wrote.

The couple at the premiere of Avengers: Endgame
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

“Being mean is so yesterday. There’s enough room to love all these guys. Love is what we all need not meanness and bullying. Let’s try that.”

Schwarzenegger herself has waded in to politics, calling a tweet from President Donald Trump minimising the danger of coronavirus “trash” earlier this month. She has said she’s voting for former Vice President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Pratt’s Marvel co-stars Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana and Robert Downey Jr. have also defended the star.

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Ruffalo, who played The Hulk, tweeted: “You all, @prattprattpratt is as solid a man there is. I know him personally, and instead of casting aspersions, look at how he lives his life. He is just not overtly political as a rule. This is a distraction. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize, friends. We are so close now.”

Downey Jr, who played Iron Man, wrote: “What a world... The ‘sinless’ are casting stones at my brother, Chris Pratt... A real Christian who lives by principle, has never demonstrated anything but positivity and gratitude.”

Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn called Pratt “the best dude in the world”. “I’ve spent hours & hours sharing my deepest truths with this man, as he has with me. Please stop assuming what he believes, politically or in any other way, because he’s a Christian,” he said.

Pratt in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
AP

Other commenters online brought up a 2019 incident where Pratt was forced to defend the church he attends from accusations of homophobia.

At the time, actor Ellen Page claimed the church was “famously anti-LGBTQ”.

Pratt later responded: “It has recently been suggested that I belong to a church which ‘hates a certain group of people’ and is ‘infamously anti-LGBTQ.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone.”

Pratt in Avengers, Infinity War (Marvel Studios )
Marvel Studios

Meanwhile, the Avengers assembled for a virtual fundraiser in support of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign which saw running mate Kamala Harris compare Donald Trump to the film’s destructive supervillain Thanos.

Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana all took part in last night’s Zoom call, while Robert Downey Jr, who played Iron Man in the films, joined near the end as a surprise guest.

The Hollywood stars urged viewers to donate money towards the Democratic candidate’s bid to defeat Mr Trump in the election less than two weeks away.

Harris, who was celebrating her 56th birthday, was joined by her husband Doug Emhoff on the 70-minute video call - where they discussed the Marvel universe and parallels between it and the political situation in America.

The vice presidential candidate there was “such symmetry” between the plot of the movies, where the superheroes battle to save the world from the evil Thanos, and current global affairs.

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