Reintroducing Chris Pratt: ‘Religion has Been Oppressive AF for a Long Time’
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Chris Pratt has been dodging pernicious and largely unfounded rumors for years that he’s highly religious and homophobic. In the new issue of Men’s Health he addresses them.
Men’s Health:
Says James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, “It absolutely infuriates me. Chris is unspeakably kind to people; he goes out of his way to help kids. He’s an especially loving father. And there’s a lot of stuff that people have literally just made up about him—about his politics, about who he is, about what he believes of other people, you know?”
Colin Trevorrow, who directed Pratt in two Jurassic World films, echoes the point: “I don’t know why we treat each other this way.”
Pratt has his own idea about the backlash. After our sweaty workout, during which Pratt (very kindly) helps me out, grabbing my legs near the end of a set so I can finish some pullups with dignity, we get into all of it pretty quickly—and at his prompting. We’re meandering through the woods around his rental home, taking the scenic route to a local sandwich shop, when an innocuous question about filming Jurassic World: Dominion overseas during a pandemic—and having to care for his then very pregnant wife via FaceTime—leads to a surprising conversation about the origins of that Internet bile and the role he believes he inadvertently played in lighting the match.
A few years ago, he explains, he was asked to give a speech at the MTV Movie & TV Awards as the recipient of a Generation Award (a lifetime-achievement honor for people with a lot of life left to live), and he was instructed to say something inspiring. So, standing next to a trophy made of golden popcorn, he spoke from the heart: “God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you.” He also said, “Don’t be a turd.” But people mostly just remember the God part.
“Maybe it was hubris. For me to stand up on the stage and say the things that I said, I’m not sure I touched anybody,” he offers, and he gets why people were put off. “Religion has been oppressive as fuck for a long time,” he says as we walk over a tiny footbridge, the words spilling out in an emotional tidal wave. “I didn’t know that I would kind of become the face of religion when really I’m not a religious person. I think there’s a distinction between being religious—adhering to the customs created by man, oftentimes appropriating the awe reserved for who I believe is a very real God—and using it to control people, to take money from people, to abuse children, to steal land, to justify hatred. Whatever it is. The evil that’s in the heart of every single man has glommed on to the back of religion and come along for the ride.”
Say what you will about Pratt, but these are big ideas he’s openly wrestling with, and it’s something I can’t imagine another celebrity in his shoes saying. The situation wasn’t helped by Pratt’s alleged association with the celebrity church Hillsong, whose official policies contain what can generously be called non-LGBTQ-affirming statements. After Pratt casually talked about his faith with Stephen Colbert in 2019, the actor Elliot Page called him out.
Pratt issued a statement at the time: “It has recently been suggested that I belong to a church which ‘hates a certain group of people’ and is ‘infamously anti-LGBTQ.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a man who believes that everyone is entitled to love who they want free from the judgment of their fellow man.”
What he didn’t say then—and what he tells me now—is: “I never went to Hillsong. I’ve never actually been to Hillsong. I don’t know anyone from that church.” Okay. Why not say that at the time?
“I’m gonna, like, throw a church under the bus?” he replies, before reconsidering. “If it’s like the Westboro Baptist Church, that’s different.” No one’s suggesting that. But he could have, ya know, read up on Hillsong. Pratt tells me he attends Zoe Church, but I’m not sure the distinction will satisfy his critics. Zoe, also popular with celebrities like Justin and Hailey Bieber, was founded by pastor Chad Veach. He executive- produced a 2017 film that equated “sexual brokenness” with “same-sex attraction.” Pratt also mentions that he doesn’t go to Zoe exclusively. When it came time for Lyla to be baptized, he and his wife chose a norm-y Catholic church in Santa Monica where she worshipped as a kid.
“I don’t actually know what’s gonna come next,” he tells me while we wait, insisting he doesn’t have a “ten-year plan.” Like other A-list actors who’ve earned the right to choose their material, he’s looking for great filmmakers and great stories. Getting older, becoming a father again: “You asked whether or not I’m cognizantly, intentionally turning a page. The page is turning. Whether I want to or not. Because the franchises are over.”
What he’s struggling with is what we’re all struggling with at 43. In that way, he is still very much an everyman. “I’ve been broke-broke, dude,” he says. “And I think early on in my career it was so important to me. It’s like, Don’t forget where you came from. Don’t forget who you are. And part of me is struggling with who I am maybe not being who I was.”
You should be able to grow, I say. How could you not, with all that’s happened?
“Exactly,” he responds.
“So yeah, you should. And I have. I’m kind of coming to terms with that. What does it mean to me?”
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Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is in theaters May 5, 2023
