Actor John C. Reilly blasted Elon Musk for warning about empathy exploitation, bizarrely claiming that conservatives don’t care about “human rights.”
During a recent podcast interview, Reilly asked why standing up for “human rights” is a matter of right vs. left politics, adding, “Why aren’t people on the right wing concerned about human rights? They’re human, too.”
“This whole thing that kind of has come into vogue of like, ’empathy trap,’” the Chicago actor added, before citing Elon Musk, who he claims said “Don’t be fooled by the empathy trap. Stick to your agenda and what’s best for you. Don’t start feeling bad for so-and-so, they’re on their own thing. Look out for number one.”
“It’s like, wait a minute, empathy is not a trap,” Reilly continued. “Empathy is a superpower. That’s what makes human beings exceptional, our ability to look outside of ourself.”
The Stan & Ollie star went on to say, “We’re not an alligator trying to just get the next fish, you know? We’re human beings. We can relate to something that’s not us,” adding, “That’s a superpower. It’s also the cornerstone of civilization.”
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Reilly then bizarrely compared having empathy for others to waiting at a red light in traffic.
“The fact that we stay at the red light and don’t just zoom out, because we want to get through the light faster. Because what will happen? Well, we might smash into someone. ‘Well, you don’t know that person.’ Yeah, but i still don’t want to smash into them,” he said.
“Those are the building blocks of civilization,” the Guardians of the Galaxy actor continued. “That’s the agreement, that we treat… and it’s very Catholic, too. ‘Do unto others,’ you know? Treat your brother as you would treat yourself.”
“It’s crazy that we have to argue for these things right now,” Reilly added. “That’s a really Upside Down World feeling to me.”
Viewers quickly took to social media to slam the actor, with many explaining that warnings about empathy exploitation does not mean someone is against human rights.
“Amazing how none of these maximum empathy people ever try to empathize with a middle class blue collar worker having a quarter of his earnings confiscated to pay for gay rights advocacy in Macedonia,” one X user quipped.
“Please know that the communist believes the world belongs exclusively to him and his kind. And when he uses words like empathy, he actually means it. Except he means only for him and his kind,” radio host Jesse Kelly wrote.
In offering an example, Kelly added, “The ‘refugee’ who rapes and butchers a grandma deserves empathy. The grandma? Nah.”
“Not only does that actor being interviewed have absolutely no clue what the context behind ‘Suicidal Empathy’ means, he’s also presenting himself as a living, breathing example of why Hollywood so often just doesn’t ‘get it,’” a third reacted.
“To be quite blunt it borders on intellectual impotence. It’s like drawing an unmistakable picture of a dog or a cat in crayon, only for a child to look at it and insist it’s actually a lizard or a parrot. You forgive them because their brains haven’t fully developed, and it’s even endearing in a way,” the X user added.
“The thought process of people like John C. Reilly goes like this: I have beliefs. My beliefs are empathetic. Empathy is the ultimate good. If your beliefs contradict mine, you must lack empathy. You are therefore evil,” another commented.
“So they weaponize the word empathy to mark their opponents as evil, despite the fact that their beliefs are almost always shortsighted, contradictory, self-serving, and even vile at times,” the X user added. “That’s why most of us think ’empathy’ is a trap.”
“This is the midwit trap. Where your intelligence suffices just enough to understand how a thing is good, but not enough to understand how that same thing can be abused,” another remarked.
“The people on the left aren’t actually empathetic at all. They just call themselves that to flatter their egos,” another asserted. “In reality they are driven by resentment, greed and entitlement. Whenever there’s a problem they want to solve with money, it’s inevitably someone else’s money.”
“Framework here is to villainize the right so you can feel superior as a leftist,” another X user pointed out, adding, “Nobody on the right is against human rights.”
Another X user simply wrote, “I hate when actors I love reveal themselves to be total dumbasses,” while another commented, “The Romans were right about actors.”
“I wonder how much of his millions he’s donated to empathy,” another pondered, sharing a screenshot of Reilly’s $30 million estimated net worth from CelebrityNetWorth.com.
“Why are nearly all celebrities so ignorant and illogical?” another asked. “Empathy is good, but not always. If empathy is used only for 1st tier (order) outcomes without looking at 2nd, or 3rd tier consequences it’s foolish and potentially even suicidal.”
“As someone who helps the homeless, as an example, the worst thing anyone can do is give them money on the side of the road,” the X user added. “It may make you feel virtuous, but its outcome, 99% of the time, is destructive, precisely because the giver is ignorant of the 2nd and 3rd tier consequences.”
“Who says the right isn’t concerned with human rights?” another questioned, adding, “The problem is the left redefined the term. Real human rights are negative: life, speech, self-defense, property, conscience. They restrain power.”
“The problem is selective or lopsided empathy,” another wrote. “So for example you can have empathy for the illegal migrant. But you should also have empathy for the legal immigrant who followed the law and came to the country the correct way. Or for the victims of illegal migrant crime.”
“The argument isn’t ’empathy is a trap’ so this is a false premise,” another declared. “The argument is that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to fall for it when we’re asked to be empathetic in such a way that it hurts ourselves or others.”
“Of course people should be compassionate, but is it compassionate to encourage a child that genital mutilation is safe and normal? Or is that suicidally empathetic?” the X user added. “I mean, the kid isn’t old enough to smoke or drink or vote. But it’s ’empathy’ to encourage life altering experimental surgery?”
“Liberals don’t do real empathy,” another asserted. “What they call empathy is always just a backhanded way to trade other people’s money for votes or look good to other liberals. Take those things out of the equation and you’ll find that the average liberal has as much empathy as a serial killer.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.