Kirsten Dunst, who stars in the upcoming movie Civil War, is no fan of the news media, saying it is a “big time” driver of division in America.
In an interview with Variety, the actress spoke candidly on a wide range of subjects, including raising Christian kids and her clear dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden being the “only option” for Democrats in 2024.
She also claimed Civil War‘s fascist president isn’t based on former President Donald Trump.
Dunst addressed head on the major theme of Civil War — the political and cultural divisions in the U.S. that are ripping the country apart. And she pinpointed a major big culprit in all of that.
“Media really stokes it big time,” she says. “The media is forcing us to choose a side. Everything’s a lot more complicated than that.”
Dunst even spoke about the coming presidential election.
“I’m gonna vote for Biden. That’s my only option. Right?” she said, adding that she wished Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke (D) had fared better in 2020.
Civil War, which A24 will release wide on April 12, is already generating an enormous amount of controversy for its depiction of the U.S. torn apart by warring factions. Nineteen states have seceded from the union— including something called the “Florida Alliance.” Meanwhile, a “three-term president” is trying to hold together what remains of the U.S.
Dunst dismissed notions that the fictional president is based on Trump.
“It feels fictitious to me,” she told Variety. “I don’t want to compare because that’s the antithesis of the film. It’s just a fascist president. But I didn’t think about Nick’s character being any certain political figure. I just thought this is thispresident, in this world, who will not abide by the Constitution and democracy.”
Director Alex Garland took a different interpretation during the movie’s recent premiere at SXSW.
“There is a fascist president who smashed the Constitution and attacked [American] citizens. And that is a very clear, answered statement,” the director reportedly said.
In her Variety interview, Dunst didn’t shy away from other potentially hot-button subjects, like The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech in which he refuted his Jewish identity in protest over Israel.
“My interpretation was he was saying that genocide is bad,” she said.
On the subject of religion, she doesn’t hide that she’s a practicing Christian: “I did have both my children baptized because I love the tradition. I believe in God.”
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at
