The Good McCarthyism: Hollywood’s Hypocrisy on Full Display

Many Americans are familiar with the term McCarthyism—the era in the 1950s when suspected communists, especially in Hollywood, were blacklisted and silenced, often based on little to no evidence. It’s long been held up as a warning against ideological witch hunts, a moment when America temporarily lost its grip on free speech and fairness.

So, you’d think Hollywood, being the prime target of that hysteria, would have learned something from it.

They didn’t.

Today, it’s not communists being blacklisted. It’s conservatives. And this time, Hollywood is running the blacklist.

In 2004, actor Gary Sinise (best known for CSI: NY and Forrest Gump) quietly launched Friends of Abe, a discreet, invitation-only group where right-leaning Hollywood professionals could connect, collaborate, and speak freely without fear of retaliation. The group ballooned to around 2,500 members and included names like Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, Jerry Bruckheimer, Robert Duvall, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Sorbo, Patricia Heaton, Jeremy Boreing, and Jon Voight.

Friends of Abe wasn’t a political action committee. It didn’t raise funds, endorse candidates, or organize campaigns. As actor Clint Howard put it in a 2016 interview, it was “a safe haven and a fellowship… a place for members to find work, swap ideas for a project—even meet a romantic partner.”

Translation? It was a support group for people afraid to admit what they believe.

Why would conservative actors need a secret society just to network?

Because in Hollywood, being openly conservative was, and still is, a career risk. And in many cases, a career-ender.

The backlash against conservatives didn’t start with Trump, but his election supercharged it. According to The California Sunday Magazine, members of Friends of Abe described being dropped from projects, ghosted by colleagues, and blacklisted for holding traditional views, particularly on hot-button issues like abortion and religious freedom. Some sobbed during their interviews as they recounted the hostility and isolation they faced simply for refusing to parrot progressive narratives.

Let’s be clear: Hollywood loves an “outsider” narrative, unless the outsider is a Republican.

Yes, other communities—Black, LGBTQ+, and others—have experienced marginalization in the industry. But here’s the difference: those groups were eventually welcomed, celebrated, and platformed. Conservatives? They’re told to stay in the closet.

Because if a household name like Tim Allen can get canceled, or Roseanne Barr can be erased overnight, what chance does a young actor have? How do you build a career knowing that one wrong comment, one bad retweet, or one donation to the wrong campaign could nuke your entire future?

In 2016, Friends of Abe quietly disbanded. The official reason was dwindling engagement and rising costs, but insiders blamed infighting over Donald Trump. One founding member called it “a civil war in slow motion.” But something new rose from the ashes: The Daily Wire, a conservative media company co-founded by Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing (a Friends of Abe veteran). Today, it stands as a cultural counterweight to Hollywood’s ideological monopoly—creating original films, children’s content, and unapologetically conservative commentary.

Social media also shifted the battlefield. Now, when conservatives are attacked, there are platforms ready to fight back. A-list hypocrisy is no longer immune from exposure. In some cases, conservatives have even gone on the offense, calling out the double standards and forcing public conversations that the legacy media would rather avoid.

Still, the power imbalance remains. Hollywood continues to function like an ideological gated community. If you don’t hold the “approved” beliefs, don’t expect the red carpet. Instead, you’ll be handed a gag order, or a pink slip.

This isn’t new. It’s just a new flavor of the same old tyranny.

Hollywood once cried foul over blacklists. Now it keeps its own.

It once claimed to champion rebellion. Now it demands conformity.

It once defended free speech. Now it punishes thought crimes.

So, let’s stop pretending the industry is morally superior. Its sermons on “tolerance” are empty. Its lectures on “inclusion” are selective. And its so-called “bravery” is conditional: only if you say the right things, vote the right way, and pledge allegiance to the right cause.

We were taught that McCarthyism was a national disgrace, an era of fear and repression we vowed never to repeat. But apparently, it’s only disgraceful when the “wrong” people are targeted. When conservatives are in the crosshairs, the rules shift. Suddenly, McCarthyism isn’t so bad—so long as the red being hunted isn’t a communist, but someone who votes Republican. In that case, blacklists are back in fashion.

In today’s Hollywood, McCarthyism isn’t bad. It’s just being used “correctly.”