Kirstie Alley was an unabashed supporter of Donald Trump during his 2020 reelection campaign. Photos: AFP/Reuters
Donald Trump has joined the list of public figures paying tribute to Kirstie Alley amid the shocking announcement of her death.
“Kirstie was a great person who truly loved the USA. She will be missed!!!” the former US president wrote Monday (Dec 5) on his Truth Social website.
Alley, who starred on the TV series Cheers and Veronica’s Closet, died after a short battle with colon cancer, a representative confirmed.
The devout Scientologist was an unabashed supporter of the Apprentice star during his 2020 reelection campaign.
She faced backlash on social media because of her backing of Trump and claimed she was blackballed for her political leanings.
During a May 2021 interview with Fox Nation’s Tucker Carlson, Alley said she was previously advised to keep quiet about which side of the aisle she was on during the 2016 election.
But for Trump’s reelection campaign she openly stood with him, announcing on Twitter her plans to vote for him in 2020 because he was “not a politician” and “gets things done quickly and he will turn the economy around quickly”.
“People go, ‘You’re so brave.’ I go, ‘No, I think I’m stupid,’” she confided to Carlson. “Because, honestly, it is a real situation. And it is a real blackballing situation. And it’s so strange to me because artistes are free-thinkers for the most part.”
“You can be cooking meth and sleeping with hookers, as long as apparently you didn’t vote for Trump,” she added, referencing the hypocrisy in Hollywood. “I feel like I’m in The Twilight Zone a bit, with the whole concept of it.”
Shortly after the Jan 6 Capitol riot, Trump was banned from Twitter for violating the company’s policy against inciting violence.
Earlier this year, the two-time Emmy Award winner competed in Season 7 of Fox’s The Masked Singer, which endured criticism for the controversial casting of Trump loyalist Rudy Giuliani on the popular celebrity talent competition series.
On Tuesday afternoon, flowers were placed on Alley’s Walk of Fame star at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard.
”Sadly, Kirstie Alley has passed and we send heartfelt condolences to her family,” Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez said in a statement. “Kirstie always had people’s attention with her beauty and her tell-it-like-it-is personality on her shows such as Cheers and in real life. She will be very missed.” – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
