In the swirl of Hollywood and politics, Chris Pratt stirred up quite the conversation with his recent comments.
The Guardians of the Galaxy star, known for his Christian faith and military support, had conspicuously abstained from joining his Avengers comrades in their public endorsement of Kamala Harris.
Instead, Pratt penned an open letter that left fans and critics polarized, shared right on the brink of election night.
Unlike his father-in-law, the ever-bold Arnold Schwarzenegger, or even his Hollywood peers, Pratt's statement took a notably reserved tone.
Published in his mother-in-law Maria Shriver's "Sunday Paper," Pratt's op-ed didn't rally behind Harris or Donald Trump. Instead, he took a middle-road approach, striving to understand the election from "the eyes of Americans on both sides" and advocating for unity regardless of the outcome.
“It’s OK to take a moment to lick your wounds when you lose. Heck, go ahead and cry in the mirror,” Pratt advised, drawing a mix of nodding approvals and raised eyebrows.
While Shriver praised the piece as "a really good op-ed," not everyone shared her sentiment. Critics slammed it as overly neutral, especially given the stakes of what many consider the most critical election of our times.
"Pratt is trying to make it seem like this is any other election. Like Obama vs Romney, for instance. But it’s actually the most critical election of my lifetime. What we do in this moment, over the next 24 hours, matters very much,” pointed out one particularly disappointed critic.
Another comment from a fan account dedicated to Guardians of the Galaxy echoed this sentiment on X/Twitter: "It upsets me to see Chris Pratt play 'both sides have good ideas' with what is at stake for me.”
While Shriver and Schwarzenegger both put their weight behind Harris, Pratt's decision to steer clear of outright endorsements has sparked a broader debate about celebrity involvement in politics and the expectations of public figures during election seasons.
Whether his call for bipartisanship will resonate or repel remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Chris Pratt’s stance is as divisive as it is different.