Matt Gaetz’s Twitter Beef With Ron Perlman Backfires With Botched ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Insult

Lots of people reminded the congressman that the show was fictional

Matt Gaetz Ron Perlman
Matt Gaetz and Ron Perlman

The latest fight between a Hollywood star and a Republican came this weekend between Ron Perlman and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, after the pro-Trump politician condemned the U.S. Soccer Federation for removing a requirement for players to stand during the national anthem.

But Gaetz’s attempt to clap back at the “Hellboy” star backfired after he attempted to suggest Perlman was a hypocrite for opposing racism even though he played a villainous motorcycle gang leader on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.”

Gaetz said on Twitter this past week that he was planning to write a bill forcing athletes on USSF teams to stand during the anthem. Some U.S. Soccer players such as two-time World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe have made headlines in the past for kneeling during the traditional pre-match playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“If our soccer team is going to disrespect our anthem and our flag, it is not essential for us to have,” Gaetz tweeted.

Perlman responded sharply this weekend, tagging Gaetz and Donald Trump in a tweet that read, “The US Soccer team called and you guessed it… said they couldn’t give any less of a f–k about what you two dipsh–s think.”

The exchanges only got more heated from there, with Gaetz attacking Perlman as a “racial justice warrior” who “had no problem in Hollywood portraying the White Supremacist leader of a motorcycle gang.” Perlman responded by saying it was “So rewarding playing a–h—s on tv. Tell me sir, how is it actually being one?”

“You wouldn’t be tweeting about me if my message weren’t true & effective,” Gaetz wrote. “Threatens your wokeness. How triggered will you be when [Trump] is re-elected? More or less than when crooked [Hillary Clinton] lost?”

Alas, Gaetz’s jab at Perlman’s “Sons of Anarchy” role didn’t land as hoped. Hundreds of Twitter users mocked the congressman for attempting to confuse real life with fiction, while others pointed out that his comment about “Sons of Anarchy” wasn’t entirely accurate given that strictly speaking SAMCRO isn’t a white supremacist M.C.. But the coup de grace came from “Venture Bros.” star and comedian James Urbaniak, who noted that a very famous Republican also once played a similarly unscrupulous role.

“Matt, you might want to sit down for this,” Urbaniak tweeted. “In the film ‘The Killers’ (1964, dir. Don Siegel) Ronald Reagan plays a homicidal gangster.”

See the original tweets and some of the reactions below:

Jeremy Fuster

Box Office Reporter • jeremy.fuster@thewrap.com • Twitter: @jeremyfuster

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