Hollywood And Religion: Or, How Angus T. Jones Became A Laughing Stock
When Angus T. Jones recorded his interview with Christopher Hudson, the leader of the Forerunner Chronicles Christian group, he may well not have expected the reaction that he got. The star of the Two and a Half Men sitcom denounced the show as “filth” and urged viewers to stop watching it. Presumably not quite the marketing plan that the show’s executives had in mind (though as we know, these bouts of ‘technically bad’ publicity have a habit of working in your favour) but Angus was keen to share all that he had learned since turning to religion.
In the interview clip, Angus speaks to Hudson as though he is some form of demi-god and looks thrilled to even be in the same room as him, reaching out to touch him as though he can’t believe he’s real. As he very publicly looked a very generous gift horse in the mouth (He earns a reported $350,000 per episode. Yes, per episode), the world winced and cowered away, sniggering. Within hours of the video clip hitting the internet, it had gone viral and the 19 year-old had quickly become a laughing stock.
What exactly was Jones’ biggest crime though? Dissing his employers? Undermining the very thing that gave him the wealth and privilege that he’s able to enjoy? Or was it all the nutty, slightly alarming religious stuff that he was spouting for the majority of the interview? If he’d just said “Two and a Half Men is cr*p,” would we have cared quite as much? Would the story have run quite as far and quite as wide as it did? If there wasn’t that cringe-worthy explanation of why he went on the hunt for a church with a “black gospel theme,” would this all have mattered so much? If he hadn’t starting aligning light entertainment with the devil, because of his newfound religious beliefs? Of course not.
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