Alan Ritchson doesn’t seem to think very highly of Matt Gaetz, a former classmate of the “Reacher” star.
Ahead of the highly anticipated season three premiere of his Prime Video action show, Ritchson opened up about his political views, military upbringing and his surprising tie to Gaetz in a profile with GQ. Born in North Dakota, Ritchson and his family moved around the U.S. until they settled in Niceville, Florida, where he came to know the controversial President Trump ally and former congressman.
“That motherf***er. We are adversaries,” Ritchson said of Gaetz in the profile.
“It’s shocking to me that the panhandle of Florida continues to vote for somebody—knowing everything we know about him and the promises that he’s made behind closed doors about pardoning certain criminals—he’s just not a good dude!” The “Reacher” star continued.
Gaetz has been engulfed in scandal and controversy since December 2024 when the House Ethics Committee said it would release a report that found “substantial evidence” that during Gaetz’s tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, he had paid for sex — in one case, allegedly with a minor — and used illegal drugs, The Associated Press reported.
The then-House member denied the allegations of wrongdoing, claiming the report was a smear. However, weeks after the report, Trump nominated Gaetz for attorney general, leading Gaetz to swiftly resign from his congressional seat. Gaetz later withdrew from consideration and is now a host on a conservative television network.
Ritchson told writer Matthew Roberson that he even considered a career in politics to cancel out politicians like Gaetz: “There’s part of me that wants to get into politics to outdo somebody like him for good, and there’s part of me that’s like, I’m not duplicitous enough to succeed in politics. There are certain people that do a good job of staying true to who they are, but they’re ineffective. I think Bernie Sanders is a hero. But it’s like, what has he accomplished?”
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