Chris Evans just took on a real-life villain: white nationalist and former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke. And just like the Captain America character he is best known for playing, Evans stood for what he believed was right.
The 35-year-old actor has not shied away from making his anti-Donald Trump political views known, and on Wednesday and Thursday, he got into a back-and-forth with Duke on Twitter over the recently confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions. (Duke has praised the confirmation.)
“If David Duke….DAVID!…DUKE!… thinks you’re right, then you are unequivocally wrong. The confirmation of @jeffsessions is beyond words,” Evans tweeted.
Duke responded with, “Typical dumb actor – if everything I say is wrong, then when I say I oppose these Zionists wars, you must be for them, Captain America!?”
Evans then jabbed back with a link to a collection of racist quotes from Duke: “@DrDavidDuke well if these nuggets of bigotry are some of your OTHER thoughts, then I stand by my original tweet. We can’t let hatred be the loudest voice.”
The daughter of Captain American co-creator Joe Simon, Melissa Groben, recently told Heat Vision that she is a big fan of Evans, but people need to know when he speaks, he is doing for as himself, not the character. Saying that he represents Captain America would be an insult to the many other great performances Evans has given throughout his career, she said.
“He really did a great job as Captain America, but we have to separate fiction from reality,” said Groben. “He is not speaking as Captain America. He is speaking as Chris Evans. And that’s the way it should be. His viewpoints are his own.”
On Monday, Duke continued to try and get under Evans’ skin, and just like before, Evans worked him into a corner.
See all their interactions below:
