Chris Pratt‘s latest attire is not sitting well with some people. The 40-year-old actor went out for a casual stroll to CVS Pharmacy in Pacific Palisades, CA with his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, 29, on July 14 but his T-shirt of choice was anything but casual and it even has some people connecting him to “racists”. Chris’ navy blue controversial top has a photo of a U.S. flag meshed together with the Gadsden flag, which contains a rattlesnake coiled in with the words, “Don’t Tread On Me”, a slogan that was originally created as a message from American colonies to England during the Revolutionary War. Since its inception, the Gadsden flag has been known to be adopted by the Tea Party and far-right political groups in support of things like the Second Amendment. It’s also been linked to white supremacists in certain circumstances, leading some to question Chris’ political stance and beliefs.
Soon after a photo of Chris wearing the T-shirt hit the internet, Twitter users took to the social media site to express their opinions about the wardrobe choice. “That shirt doesn’t support our country. People are really out here in 2019 thinking the ‘don’t tread on me’ image is ‘patriotic’. Good lord,” one user wrote. “Nice shirt… Only people I see with that flag are alt-right racists….” another said.
Some also came to Chris’ defense, though. “Chris Pratt isn’t wearing a white supremacist shirt. That symbol has been used since the revolution. The snake had 13 parts and together they were strong, but apart they were worthless. It was to gather support for independence from Britain, not white supremacy,” one user explained, while another pointed out, “The criticism Chris Pratt is getting right now is a perfect example of how NO ONE is safe from the PC police calling people bigots over nothing. He says pretty much nothing about politics, yet the media will still go after him over a shirt. Pathetic. #LeaveChrisPrattAlone.”
Although some of the followers are coming up with some pretty serious questioning, it’s understandable in some realm considering the flag’s recent history. In 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that if it was seen in a workplace, it could be considered racial harassment, depending on the situation, and is “sometimes interpreted to convey racially tinged messages in some contexts,” Yahoo UK reported.
Now, of course, none of this means Chris is in support of these controversial beliefs but he is known to be conservative (and an avid hunter), just like Katherine’s own dad, Arnold Schwarzenegger, 71, who served as Governor of California from 2003 until 2011.
Chris has yet to speak out publicly about the controversy brought on by his T-shirt. He seems to gear more towards privacy when it comes to his personal life and politics as much as possible so we’re not sure if he’ll decide to comment anytime soon, but we’ll definitely be on the lookout.