Nolte: Actress Justine Bateman Mocks Harry and Meghan Markle as ‘Disaster Tourists’ over Fire Photo-op

Former Family Ties star Justine Bateman ridiculed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for their Friday photo-op as they met with victims of the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

With their reputations in tatters, the HarryMeg decided to head out to Pasadena, California, Friday to spend time with wildfire victims. They toured the devastation, pretended to care about commoners, and served food.

Bateman was having none of it.

“Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers,” she xweeted Saturday. “What a repulsive ‘photo op’ they achieved. They are ‘touring the damage’? Are they politicians now?”

“They don’t live here,” she added. They are tourists. Disaster Tourists.”

There’s more to what Justine Bateman is doing than just spouting off social media. On top of being a pop culture icon for Generation X, she’s an author and filmmaker whose sudden blast of outspokenness is blazing a trail for others to speak their own minds. She has this Xwitter thing down in a way that beautifully mixes intelligence, thoughtfulness, belligerence, and humor. And there’s nothing political or partisan about her. She’s expressing simple common sense about free speech, individual liberty, and competent governing. In her world (she lives in the Hollywood Hills for crying out loud) that’s revolutionary.

Bottom line: she’s telling others it is okay so speak their minds.

Altadena, CA – January 10: Prince Harry, left, Duke of Sussex Member of the British royal family with mayor of Pasadena Victor Gordo, center, and a unidentified man at a home at 2858 Highview Ave. and Altadena Dr. that was destroyed during the Eaton Fire in Altadena on Friday, January 10, 2025.(Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Meghan Markle, left, Duchess of Sussex member of the British royal family with two unidentified women at a home at 2858 Highview Ave. and Altadena Dr. that was destroyed during the Eaton Fire in Altadena on Friday, January 10, 2025.(Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

It should be recognized, though, that she is standing on the shoulders of actors like Robert Davi, Jon Voight, Victoria Jackson, Patricia Heaton, Kevin Sorbo, James Woods, Dennis Miller, the late Gary Graham and Ron Silver, and others who blazed this trail, often at great professional and personal cost.

Something just feels different about this particular moment. From Donald Trump to Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg to Russell Brand to Dave Chappelle to Joe Rogan to Justine Bateman, you can sense the dam breaking. You can smell the fresh air of the cell doors opening that stifled debate, humor, and plain old common sense for the better part of a decade. The backlash against this stifling and oppressive cult of woke is liberating and as it moves from person to person, it works like this: Wait, I can say that? I’m not alone? I’m not crazy?

Decent people of all political stripes have had enough. As I wrote years ago when this left-wing oppression began, the backlash was inevitable. History proves that. But who knew it would come with Trump pulling off the greatest political comeback in American history?

John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.