'Sopranos' star says Biden presidency a vessel to 'divide' US, as comments on Hollywood's 'fear' roil critics

When considering speaking out against leftist policy, many in Hollywood say 'fuhgeddaboudit,' de Matteo says

Uniting America is ‘the most important thing’: ‘Sopranos’ star

‘Sopranos’ actress Drea De Matteo explains why she thinks the far left owns Hollywood and the importance of free speech on 'The Story.' 

"Sopranos" star Drea de Matteo told Fox News on Friday many people in Hollywood agree with her view that President Biden is a divisive leader with bad public policy, but essentially fear meeting the same end as her character Adriana, who was killed while running from Silvio Dante in a New Jersey forest.

On "The Story," anchor Trace Gallagher introduced de Matteo by playing a clip from the storyline that preceded her "hit," leading the actress to joke that her decision to speak out politically leaves her similarly worried she's going to be "running through the woods one more time."

"Life imitating art, just for speaking out to the feds or whatever, you know? But yeah, I'm sure that it was hijacked a long time ago. It's new to me in the last three years to not be able to have a voice — not that I even tried to. I accidentally fell into this big-mouth role that I have now, and, man, the far-left is going to own me soon."

The actress and designer of the free speech-themed clothing line ULTRAFREE said the source of the divisive policymaking is unclear, because Biden does not appear in charge of his own faculties.

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"I feel like the Biden administration was used to divide people. I think that the division in America is beyond — and I don't think that we know really where it's coming from," she added.

"I doubt that it's just an old man who doesn't even know he's reading half the time. I don't think he's making any of these executive decisions on social issues."

De Matteo called the Biden administration's focus on left-wing social issues a distraction from truly pressing situations.

However, she does not reportedly identify explicitly as a conservative, recently telling Donald Trump, Jr.'s podcast that she considers herself more of a classical liberal than the far-left variety more prevalent today. The former first son also told her he had met other "Sopranos" co-stars and found them not to be the contemporary far-left variety of Democrat.

For many years, Hollywood non-liberals who were essentially pressured to keep their countervailing views to themselves were part of a secretive organization called "Friends of Abe," an homage to former President Lincoln. The society of sorts was founded by "Forrest Gump" and "CSI: NY" star Gary Sinise.

Public members of the group reportedly included Jon Voight — who regularly shares patriotic soliloquies in support of former President Trump — as well as "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer, Clint Eastwood and "Everybody Loves Raymond's" Patricia Heaton.

The organization would regularly host conservative speakers like the late Justice Antonin Scalia, former Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, former Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

For her part, De Matteo said she feels Americans' constitutional rights are slowly being "stripped away," saying people need to "come together and fight against [this]."

When asked whether she feared being essentially blacklisted for speaking out against Hollywood political norms, de Matteo said she already "pulled [her]self out a while ago."

"I've been called every name under the sun. White nationalists — like, crazy things, but, you know, we forget about Guns n’ Roses, the Sex Pistols, Velvet Revolver. Madonna wore crosses on everything. I don't know why the words ‘freedom’ and ‘God’ are sort of reasons for discrimination," she said.

"Now, these are four-letter words somehow, and I don't know how we got here. It's too much. There's no balance." 

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Authored by Charles Creitz via FoxNews May 3rd 2024