Shailene Woodley has finally spoken out about the uproar caused by her sharing Melania Trump‘s statement following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
The star of Big Little Lies explained that she shared Melania's words because they seemed like a “beautiful message of human compassion.” However, she was shocked by the negative reaction she received.
During a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, a sniper fired at Trump, grazing the former president's ear. The incident resulted in one death and two injuries.
Melania responded with a two-page statement calling for unity, saying, “we are all humans, and fundamentally, instinctively, we want to help one another,” and that “love, compassion, kindness and empathy are necessities.”
Woodley shared the statement on her Instagram stories without comment, which quickly became a hot topic on social media.
Now, Woodley has opened up about her decision to post it and her reaction to the backlash.
In an interview with Bustle magazine, Woodley said: “Oh my God. Literally, I read it and I was like, ‘This is so beautiful.' I was in circles of people that I deeply respect—friends, colleagues, progressive, very intelligent thinkers, shakers and movers—and many of them were saying, ‘He missed! F***ing assassin missed! Maybe it was a setup. Maybe it was a conspiracy.'”
Woodley then reflected on the reaction, noting that someone had died, which she found sad and devastating.
“I could not understand how people were speaking about something with such passion for death,” she added.
“I only posted the first page of it, because the second page was more political. The first page was very much like, ‘Look, underneath the political mask is a man, a grandpa, who comes home to his children, his grandchildren, and plays music. The man underneath that mask is my husband.'”
After posting the statement, the Divergent actress mentioned that she “forgot about it because I have a life and I don't live for what social media says.”
However, about a week later, her friends started checking in on her, and that's when she realized the frenzy her post had caused.
“There were all these news articles about Melania Trump, and I was like, ‘oh my God, that is now this? Hundreds of articles because I posted about a woman saying she's grateful her husband is alive? Really?'” Woodley said.
The actress seemed surprised by the intense reaction to her simple act of sharing what she saw as a compassionate message. Her comments highlight the complex nature of celebrity involvement in political discussions and the sometimes unexpected consequences of social media posts.
Woodley expressed her frustration, saying, “It made me shake my head. If [who I am] is not coming through in the way that I'm intending, I'm not going to participate on social media. I participate in my own ways now that maybe are less public because I want to add to the right noise. I don't want to add to unnecessary noise.”
The article noted that Woodley's “beliefs are pretty well-known” through her activism, especially on environmental issues.
She openly backed Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and was arrested that same year for protesting a planned crude oil pipeline in North Dakota.
LINK LOVE
SL RECOMMENDS
Like most websites, Socialite Life uses affiliate links where available, which means we earn a little commission if you click through and buy something. Also, as Amazon Influencers, we earn from qualifying purchases.
TRENDING ON SL
Quick Drag: Chatting with Coco Peru
Paul Forman: Male Model Spotlight Update
Quick Drag: Own a Piece of Drag Race Her-story
Anna Delvey claims she was exploited by ‘predatory' Dancing With the Stars
Last update on 2024-10-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
