Actor Jessica Chastain voiced her opposition to Apple’s decision to delay the release of “The Savant,” her television series about infiltrating an extremist group.
Apple announced on Tuesday that its series would be postponed and released “at a future date” in response to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“I wanted to reach out and let you know that we’re not aligned on the decision to pause the release of ‘The Savant,’” Chastain wrote on Instagram Wednesday.
Noting recent instances of political violence, including the Kirk shooting, the attempt to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, she added, “These incidents, though far from encompassing the full range of violence witnessed in the United States, illustrate a broader mindset that crosses the political spectrum and must be confronted.”
Aramide Tinubu, a TV critic for Variety, said that she has seen the entire run of the series and that Apple’s decision to hide it is “another chilling example of how business giants are running scared of the Trump administration, and bowing to pressure before it even exists.”
Tinubu also noted that the series never explicitly names Trump, but it does depict “white nationalists in a negative light.”
The series, based on a 2019 Cosmopolitan article, is about a woman who monitors online hate groups in hope of preventing large-scale domestic terror attacks.
Tinubu explained that the antagonists in the series are “mostly white male individuals who believe that America belongs to them” who are “fueled by hate, bigotry, xenophobia and misogyny, they talk cruelly and candidly online about enacting harm and violence toward individuals or ‘others’ who they feel are unworthy of being in ‘their’ country.”
This, of course, matches the rhetoric embraced by Trump and MAGA, including leading pro-MAGA voices like Kirk.
The decision to shelve the show comes just a little more than a month after Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Trump at the White House on Aug. 6, presenting him with an Apple plaque featuring a 24-karat gold base.
Apple’s pro-Trump content decision echoes other alarming instances of media kowtowing to right-wing pressure. This includes CBS’ decision to end Stephen Colbert’s late-night show after years of mocking Trump, along with ABC’s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show.
Looks like Apple will, indeed, be obeying in advance.
