Rita Moreno on Trump: I am not about to vote for someone who has 91 indictments
Rita Moreno is 92 and I’m fairly certain has at least twice the energy I do. She’s sharp as a tack, making friends at the supermarket, and still regularly working. This week she stopped by The View to promote her latest film The Prank, which first screened at South by Southwest two years ago. Rita gets to play a meanie this time, a turn that she relished. While chatting with the ladies, Rita described how she drew on all the people who’d been nasty to her in Hollywood in order to play this role. She also proudly took credit for coming up with her character’s bangs trauma. Adorable. In another hot topic, Rita frankly said “I am not about to vote for someone who has 91 indictments.” Can we get that on a bumper sticker, please?
Rita Moreno didn’t let mean girls stop her success in Hollywood.
The legendary actress appeared on “The View” on Monday to promote her new film “The Prank,” in which she plays a mean professor falsely accused of murder. She told the morning talk show hosts she used “awful” women in Hollywood she met during her rise to fame as inspiration for the role.
“I just thought, how am I going to play this terrible person? And I thought of all the women in my life — particularly in show business — who’d really been awful to me,” Moreno, 92, said.
The “West Side Story” actress continued: “I said to myself, I thought, ‘I’m going to use all of the things that they did with me and my little Puerto Rican past,’ and that’s what I do. Boy was that fun.”
Moreno didn’t call anyone out in particular, though co-host Ana Navarro passed a piece of paper to her to write the names down.
“The Prank” also stars Connor Kalopsis and Ramona Young, and is set to premiere March 15 in limited theaters after first premiering at South by Southwest in 2022.
Elsewhere during the episode, the EGOT winner shared a “wonderful little joke,” she saw, a recipe for a “Trump Sandwich.”
“I saw a sign in a deli wall in LA, where I was visiting,” Moreno shared. “And it said: Trump Sandwich. And then it goes on to describe it. … Two slices of white bread, bologna, and a very small pickle.”
The joke elicited laughs and applause from the room. Co-host Sunny Hostin praised the recipe with a “chef’s kiss” while Navarro added that the sandwich “probably sells for $399,” in reference to the price of former President Donald Trump’s official sneakers.
Moreno shared a more serious criticism of Trump later during her appearance.
“I am not about to vote for someone who has 91 indictments against him for criminal activities,” she said. “I mean, enough said already. It’s so stupid. Look at all the stuff that Biden has accomplished.”
Navarro, a Republican, agreed: “I’ll take 81 years over 91 counts any day,” to which Moreno responded, “Absolutely. It’s appalling!”
Not to quibble with Rita, but technically Trump has four indictments with 91 felony counts. (Nerd + Literal Lucy = Kismet.) Still, it’s the heart of her statement that counts. Small Pickle Trump™ is a criminal. If anyone else with the same baggage were in his place, they wouldn’t get anywhere near a candidacy. And in case it isn’t already apparent, I thought that Trump sandwich anecdote was hilarious. My mother thought so too, as she texted me (along with seemingly everyone else in her contacts) a recap of the story after it aired. I recommend watching a clip, though, because Rita is a natural storyteller. And because on video you get to enjoy the studio lights catching the glitter in her hair. Yeah, lovely Rita’s still got it.
photos credit: Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF Foto/Jerry Perez/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
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