Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini got into a war of words with Hollywood actor Richard Gere this week over the fate of migrants trying to illegally port on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Gere, who is working with the Spanish charity Open Arms to bring migrants stranded at sea to ports such as Italy and Spain, said that Italy, like the United States, should stop demonizing immigrants and instead be ready to give them respite from their travels.
“We have our problems with refugees coming from Honduras, Salavador, Nicaragua, Mexico,” Gere said in remarks to the media. “It’s very similar to what you are going through here.”
Gere said it was up to politicians in both Italy and the U.S. to stop “demonizing” refugees.
“This has to stop everywhere on this planet now,” he said. “And it will stop if we say stop.”
But Salvini, who has made a crackdown on migration a prominent part of his political platform, said that if Gere was so concerned about the fate of the 121 people aboard the Open Arms boat, he should put them up in his posh Hollywood home.
“Given this generous millionaire is voicing concern for the fate of the Open Arms migrants, we thank him,” Salvini said. “He can take back to Hollywood, on his private plane, all the people aboard and support them in his villas. Thank you Richard!”
That’s a Trump-like response if we’ve ever heard one!
No word from Gere as to whether or not he will take advantage of this fine idea, but we’re guessing the answer is no. These Hollywood elites are all about helping the poor and the downtrodden as long as it doesn’t go as far as to compromise their lush lifestyle. It’s kind of like those liberals in Georgetown, complaining about the government housing going up in their neighborhood. It’s one thing to demand that the government take care of the poor; it’s quite another to move them in down the street. Why, that – that we just won’t stand for!
It’s the same with the migrants. Richard Gere is more than happy to burden the Italian people with a further invasion of Middle Eastern migrants, but would he open his Hollywood home to any of them? Would he even deign to live in the same zip code? We think not. You don’t have any reason to support a wall at the border when you can afford to construct one around your mansion.
