Michael Imperioli “forbids bigots and homophobes” from watching ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘The White Lotus’

Michael Imperioli has said “bigots and homophobes” are forbidden from watching his film and television work following an anti-LGBTQ+ ruling by the US Supreme Court.

On Friday (June 30), the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a Christian web designer in Colorado who refused to provide services for same-sex weddings due to her religious beliefs. Her case was argued in court under First Amendment grounds of free speech.

• READ MORE: ‘The White Lotus’ season two review: the guests are still awful, the show still utterly addictive

Imperioli responded to the news by sharing an article titled “Supreme Court protects web designer who won’t do gay wedding websites” on Instagram, with the caption: “I’ve decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching The Sopranos, The White Lotus, Goodfellas or any movie or TV show I’ve been in.

“Thank you Supreme Court for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don’t agree with and am opposed to. USA! USA!”

In response to his own post, the actor added that “hate and ignorance is not a legitimate point of view” and “America is becoming dumber by the minute”.

Speaking to Variety, Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect) described the ruling as “backwards”. “I think it’s a distraction from things that are actually important, like the planet melting. I also think it’s the people who are losing clout, it’s like the last rageful fiery, ‘This is now how it should be! before they go away forever.

“It’s my only hope. That’s the only way to stand any kind of optimistic about it because otherwise it’s just fully going back in time and harming people for no reason. It feels so backwards, so directly backwards.”

Elsewhere, production on The White Lotus season three has been put on pause due to the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike. You can check out other shows affected here.