Art the Clown Will Not Tolerate Anti-LGBTQ Clowns in His Comments

Last week, David Howard Thornton, the actor who plays Art The Clown in the Terrifier series, posted a note to his followers on Threads letting them know, in no uncertain terms, he has no time for anti-LGBTQ fans.

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I am not a fan of the film series, but now I’m a fan of David Howard Thornton. It’s difficult for some celebrities to risk alienating parts of their fan base by taking a strong stance on socio-political issues. By “some celebrities,” I generally mean white guys. Art The Clown is very popular these days; the third movie in the Terrifier franchise grossed close to $90 million on a $2 million budget. That’s a lot of fans to possibly alienate and he’s been blocking the ones who disagree with him on this and other issues.

That post isn’t just a one-off for Thornton. He’s been very outspoken on Threads about where he stands on current political issues. Hint, he’s not a fan of the current administration and compares it to the German Third Reich.

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Strong allies who aren’t afraid to be visible and speak out are important to marginalized communities. It doesn’t seem like much for an actor to take to social media to say he stands with his LGBTQ fans and co-workers. But, when the government is out to erase your existence, any public display of support is welcome.

Historically, the horror genre has always been very “woke,” as they say. Filmmakers are great at sneaking strong political statements past the goalies under all the blood, gore, and zombies. Queer-coded horror, the fear of “others” that speaks directly to racism, and Final Girls who defy stereotypes are just scratching the surface of how the genre has tackled social issues throughout its history. Good job, David Howard Thornton, for recognizing horror’s place as part of social activism.

Don’t tell that to his director, though. In an obvious response to Thornton’s post(s), Damien Leone took to Facebook to let everyone know that politics and social issues play no part in his horror movies and that he welcomes all fans to the Terrifier franchise regardless of political affiliation or how they feel about the LGBTQ community.

Gotta protect that bottom line, Damien. Whether or not his films are intended to be “political,” the people who work on them will always have thoughts about and be affected by what’s going on politically. Leone had three choices: support him, ignore him, or throw Thornton under the bus as he seems to have done in that post.

And, as author Chuck Wendig was quick to point out on BlueSky this morning, the absence of politics is in and of itself political.

Last week, before all of this, Leone teased fans on Instagram with a shot of the Terrifier 4 script’s title page.

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A post shared by Damien Leone (@damien_leone)

I don’t know if this social media back-and-forth means anything for the franchise as it comes to an end, but it sounds like this actor/director relationship may have run its course.