How did rob reiner's comments about the butler attempt compare to other celebrities' reactions?
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Executive summary
Rob Reiner did not publicly say he wished the would‑be Butler, Pennsylvania, assassin "hadn't missed," and multiple fact‑checks found no evidence he made such a remark [1] [2] [3]. Celebrity reactions to the aftermath of Reiner’s death clustered around condemnation of President Trump’s remarks blaming Reiner’s opposition for his own killing, with prominent entertainers and some lawmakers calling Trump’s comments "disgusting" or a "new low" [4] [5] [6].
1. The core factual divergence: Reiner’s silence (or lack of evidence) versus circulating claims
Multiple newsrooms and independent fact‑checkers searched public records and sources close to the family and found no trace of Reiner saying he hoped the Butler shooter had succeeded; Lead Stories and Snopes summarized that the circulating claim is unfounded and called it "nonsense" or "unfounded" after checking sources [2] [3] [1]. That absence matters because several commentators and social posts tried to justify or contextualize President Trump’s later comments by asserting (without evidence) that Reiner had previously celebrated the Butler attempt — an assertion that the reporting does not support [3] [2].
2. Celebrity condemnation centered on Trump, not on a supposed Reiner quote
When Trump posted and later defended remarks suggesting Reiner’s anti‑Trump views contributed to his murder, celebrities and entertainment figures were swift to denounce the president’s tone and timing rather than defend an alleged Reiner statement; outlets record a wave of outrage from the entertainment community and liberal lawmakers calling Trump’s words "petty," "vile" or a "new low" [4] [5] [6]. Coverage in The Guardian, CNN and Newsweek documents that performers and public figures framed the president’s comments as inappropriate in the face of a family tragedy and demanded decency from political leaders [4] [5] [6].
3. Cross‑ideological pushback and the double‑standard argument
Responses were not monolithic: several Republicans and conservative commentators also expressed discomfort, with some, including Rep. Thomas Massie and other GOP voices, calling Trump’s rhetoric "inappropriate" or "classless," and commentators like Jenna Ellis invoking a perceived double standard about how political deaths are discussed [5] [7] [8]. This cross‑aisle criticism undercut attempts to cast the controversy as purely partisan, showing celebrities’ burnished outrage aligned more with calls for restraint than with any claim Reiner had endorsed political violence [5] [8].
4. Misinformation as a framing device: how the false quote shaped reaction narratives
The false claim that Reiner wished the Butler attacker had succeeded circulated online and was repurposed by some to justify or normalize harsher reactions to Trump’s post; fact‑checkers specifically flagged that meme and said a source close to the family called it "nonsense," while reputable outlets found no record of such a statement [2] [3]. The presence of that misinformation complicated media coverage, creating an alternate narrative that some outlets and commentators had to dispel even as celebrities focused criticism on the president’s remarks [3] [2].
5. What this comparison reveals about celebrity influence and the information ecosystem
The episode shows two distinct phenomena: celebrities and high‑profile figures used their platforms primarily to condemn an incumbent president’s perceived exploitation of a homicide for political attack (coverage documents numerous condemnations from the entertainment world and lawmakers), while separate social‑media actors attempted to muddy waters by inventing or amplifying a quote to justify counter‑attacks — a claim repeatedly debunked by fact‑checkers and reporters [4] [6] [3] [2]. Reporting so far makes clear that the dominant celebrity reaction coalesced around rebuke of Trump’s comments rather than endorsement of violence, and the false attribution to Reiner was a distortion that fed some defensive narratives [4] [5] [2].