Hollywood Hypocrites

by Jason Mattera

From the New York Times bestselling author of Obama Zombies comes a sharp and humorous critique of the Hollywood left.

THE BOOK YOU’RE ABOUT TO READ WILL PISS YOU OFF.

Are you sick of self-important celebrities preaching against “global warming,” yet flying private planes to their countless homes? Fed up with lectures about charity and philanthropy from miserly rockers who will do anything for a tax break? Disgusted by leftist stars decrying the evils of the Second Amendment as their personal bodyguards pack more heat than a Chuck Norris kick to the face?

The same Hollywood loons who got Barack Hussein Obama elected in 2008 will do so again in 2012. That is, unless we muzzle them. Four years ago, Republicans sat back like wimps and let Obama’s celebrity-fueled cool machine steamroll them into electoral smithereens. This time, we must do the steamrolling.

New York Times bestselling author of Obama Zombies and gonzo journalist Jason Mattera takes the first stand with Hollywood Hypocrites , as he slays the Left’s sacred celebrity cows and teaches Obama’s Tinseltown foot soldiers their most important lesson No longer can they attempt to deny Americans the very liberties they use to catapult themselves to prosperity and stardom. In his trademark eye-opening, no-holds-barred, and hilarious style, Mattera puts scores of A-list celebrities, including Sting, Madonna, Bono, Al Gore, Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon, Cameron Diaz, Bruce Springsteen, and many, many more under the microscope to analyze whether they live by the same environmental, health, anti-violence, civil rights, and other policy prescriptions they seek to inflict on Americans. What he uncovers will shock you.

Hollywood’s megaphone is powerful, and the mainstream media’s love affair with the president will roar back with a vengeance when their guy is against the wall. Anyone who thinks Barack Obama’s abysmal first term will be enough to demoralize the Liberal Left Coast from flexing its mediated political muscle is a fool.

It’s time to recognize the marketing and fund-raising power the Hollywood Progressives wield. It’s time to dig into the data and set the record straight. It’s time to turn the media spotlight back on the image makers and prevent the Hollywood elite from hoodwinking American voters once again.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Society, Cultural

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 2012

About the author

Jason Mattera is a New York Times bestselling author and the youngest editor of a national periodical, Human Events.

In 2010, Mattera’s debut book, Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation, landed at #14 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Mattera has appeared on virtually every major talk radio and television program, including: The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity, Fox & Friends, Imus, Washington Journal, the “Laura Ingraham Show,” “Mark Levin Show,” “Mancow,” “Neal Boortz,” and scores more.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Celebrities should have a right to do what they please, so why the hell won't they support [those] same rights for everyone else? Hmmm . . . could it be . . . hypocrisy?" -- on page 220

Although it now reads as a bit dated - it probably was more timely or worked better upon its release approximately ten years ago - author Mattera's Hollywood Hypocrites takes aim at the opinionated in the U.S. entertainment industry - such as Michael Moore, Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon - who tend to push their political agendas on the public via social media . . . although their professional work and/or 'in real life' activities confusingly (or perhaps infuriatingly) don't always jibe with what they regularly espouse to the salt-of-the-earth masses. There are some pretty good laughs to be had - the author does a great job providing damning examples of the insincerity involved here - but it's also sort of sad that apparently once you reach a rarified tax bracket / income status some common sense or empathy goes flying out of the proverbial window.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give this book 100 stars if I could. Quick, fun read exposing the Hollywood nitwits for what they are. If listening I annoying celebrities tell you how to live your life only to do the exact opposite gets on you nerves this book is for you. It amazes me how the Hollywood elite preaches about the dangers of global warming while riding on their private jets or cutting down trees to build tennis courts in their backyard. How about the way they talk about the rich not paying enough in taxes yet they find numerous ways to get cheap tax credits. Amazing. I've always said these guys jump on causes just so they can become more popular and make more money.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mattera told his readers that reading this book would "...piss you off." It did, but it also made me laugh. I've always seen most celebrities as hypocritical, but examples - such as Leonardo DiCaprio lecturing the ignorant commoners about our carbon footprints, then driving away in a fleet of suv's to the airport & taking a private jet to one of his several homes - is only the tip of the iceberg! Mattera manages to cushion the blow a bit with his humor & wit. So I was educated and entertained. He completes his book by encouraging us pee-on citizens to not be afraid to speak up when we see the hypocracy - maybe WE can lecture THEM about a few things through our bloggs, Facebook, emails, not supporting their movies, etc.

I also shared some examples with my teenager & we had a great discussion about hypocracy!

[Jeanne Morigeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite point in this book is that if you let a celebrity know they are a liability to their preachy cause, they will shut up and disappear.

I remember a long time ago several celebrities were bad mouthing teachers until somebody pointed out they were all high school dropouts. That shut them up!

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm looking forward to reading this book, because I'm tired of the hypocrisy.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting look at the hypocrisy of those trying to tell others how they should live their life as they do the exact thing they tell you not to do. Eye opening at times, but could have been written more objectively with just the facts laid out.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't read this if you wish to have your favorite hollywood actors/celebrities put under the same microscope normally used for colorectal screenings. I like Bono, but after reading this I think he's a bit of an ass-hat. While Mattera's bold writing style seems to suggest he's "blowing the lid" off of whatever he's choosing to write about, most of this information is pretty well known and not a huge shock to me. News alert: Michael Moore and Alec Baldwin are liberals!! Clutch my pearls!

[Steven Shroyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brutal and scathing. Mattera pulls no punches taking on the left wing's celebrity mouthpieces and doing so in a way that is also hilariously funny. Mattera's writing style may not be for all tastes but I enjoy it because it is the style of an author who is genuinely pissed off and it comes through in every word of this book.

Get this book and give it a spin, you may end up thinking differently. Oh by the way F**K DAVID GEFFIN!!!!!!!

[Judie Hatton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great facts and lots of humor. It is interestng that these people find tax loop holes and then turn around and tellt the rest of us that we need to assist and pay more. These people also preach to me about saving the environment and then get in their jets. Luckily Mattera adds humor, otherwise it would have been so frustrating to read.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well documented and with an easy to read style. I really did appreciate all the sources in the back of the book so if I thought something was out of context I could go and find the quote to check it out.

[Frank Butry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical of the so called royalty here in the USA, most actors have no clue of the real world, and are the biggest hypocrites in the world, this book bares all, and the best has got to be the pages on Barbara Streisand.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought Provoking!

Enjoyed the style used to point out how the Hollywood Hypocrites push for the majority to donate until you've nothing left to give while the HH's look for ways to hide and protect what is theirs. Unbelievable, disgusting and outrageous!

[Lana Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hypocrisy of the Hollywood "elite" is astounding. How do they live with themselves? This book points out many of the worst offenders and will definitely make you rethink about how you spend your entertainment dollars. I don't want to waste another cent on these jerks.

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood probably holds the most concentration of liberals within America, Ronald Reagan excepted. This leftist tendencies held by Hollywood artists are certainly fine, in democracy believing in wrong ideologies is technically acceptable. However, what makes these people utterly vile that they are so hypocritical about it. In this rather outdated, but still relevant book, the author uncovers various hypocrisies done by various Hollywood artists, with most of the culprits still strut over scot-free until today.

In the context of the book, with the emergence of Barrack Obama as probably the first superstar-like President, Hollywood liberals undoubtedly rallied around him, projecting him as a Messiah-like figure whom could do no wrong, while Obama, in turn, turned blind eyes towards the artists' various transgressions towards America's working people.

In the end, I find the message of the book as okay, for the Hollywood liberals are guilty for things they did, yet nothing is being done to curtail their misbehavior. I find that reading this book feels like bashing your head to the wall, expecting it to fall down.

[Reina Colet]

# I heard about you telling Khalid/Sam not to bother much about increasing the number of people in the army. I couldn’t agree more. “20 disciplined believers will win over 200 of them.” In the end, we are not soldiers. We are writers, creators. Keep the treasured ones who believe. The ones who don’t, the ones whose faith will eventually falter, the ones with lower conviction—let them go. Tell Khalid not to be sad over them. People lacking conviction brings only harm—especially the ones who switch around a lot. [Ps. It’s an old note.]

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and very funny. Though the author DOES go quite a bit over the top here and there, he otherwise imparts little known (to most) statistics and information. An eye opener.

[Dachokie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Salient Points Drown in Sea of Sarcasm ...

Jason Mattera has proven himself to be a talented leader among young conservative pundits regardless of whether one agrees with his point-of-view. While his first book "Obama Zombies" came across as both fresh, witty and well-sourced, his follow-up book, HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRITES, is somewhat of a letdown.

HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRITES does effectively hammer home the "do as I say, not as I do" message that so many celebrities use to sucker their legions of adoring fans into footing the bills for causes in which the celebrity gets all the credit but has no interest in actually practicing. Covering a full plate of political hot-buttons, Mattera holds no punches in exposing the hypocritical behavior of celebrities on topics including: paying higher taxes, guns, third-world welfare, environmental issues and healthy eating habits. The examples of hypocrisy Mattera provides are not as shocking as they are irritating ... mainly because we've all heard these celebrities screeching loudly about their position on such issues. Reading this book does manage to elicit anger as it reveals case-after-case of Hollywood's "self-anointed saints of righteousness" preach higher taxes for the wealthy, yet they protect their own wealth by taking advantage of any and every possible tax loophole available (a patch of blueberries and a beehive ensure rockers Springsteen and Bon Jovi get tax breaks ... as farmers). Mattera covers a lot of ground with his well-researched approach to each celebrity case he presents.

While some examples of hypocrisy will not be surprising (such as stars owning fleets of cars and fly upstate to purchase a favorite bottle of wine while simultaneously imploring Americans to reduce their carbon footprint), because Americans have traditionally accepted Hollywood's "elite" as being a privileged lot. But, decades ago, most celebrities enjoyed the luxury of gated privacy ... something the internet and 24 hour-a-day cable television has permanently destroyed. So, the onetime rare peek into the private lives of celebrities is now everyday fodder for world consumption ... no more secrets. The issue that Mattera exposes more than anything, however, is that these celebrities simply do not care what the public thinks of their hypocrisy ... they merely screech and bark their hypocritical beliefs even louder. One would think embarrassment would come into play at some point with these celebrities, but nope, too many adoring (dimwitted?) fans either don't care or simply embrace the hypocrisy themselves. Bottom line is that the lack of shame or remorse exhibited by the Hollywood elite only serves as notice that this behavior is just beginning ... they know they can get away with it, so why not push the issue harder?

Yes, the book is entertaining to a degree and Mattera effectively delivers his message of hypocrisy amongst the Hollywood crowd; it's the constant tongue-in-cheek writing style that takes away the mature approach to the issue. It's simply too snarky to be taken too seriously. While I thought "Obama Zombies" was written in a format suitable to the audience he was targeting, I was hoping HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRITES would have taken a more serious approach. But, I find this to be a recurring theme with political-themed books ... they initially entice and eventually grate, regardless of which side of the political spectrum the book is tied to.

[Gary Braham · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am only few the first few chapters of the book, and already need to write something as a review. My review could range from anywhere between 1-3 stars. The content is pretty good, but the style is so over the top, it almost makes the book unreadable. He seems to be going for Ann Coulter style, but on steroids. It's like a bad impersonation of what liberals think right wing talk radio sounds like. I've found the style to be very jarring, especially right after reading "Primetime Propaganda" which is a similar type book, but without the over the top rhetoric.

That said, the content is spot on. The first topic covered is hollywood film credits. Hollywood actors and executives frequently campaign for the wealthy to pay more taxes, for people who produce, to carry more of the burden. Yet movie and TV producers have also lobbied for these film credits, which allows them to make tv and movies for a much cheaper price, despite the fact that their movies and shows make millions of dollars, and the states they are taking money from are going bankrupt. Many times entertainment is filmed overseas or in Canada, to avoid US taxes alltogether.



Finished the book. My opinion of it didn't really change. I even dropped it down to one star because some of the sections were a little tedious. The content continues to be pretty good, but he's just so one sided in his approach, and the over the top attacks on his targets are just ridiculous. What scares me the most, is you know you are going to see reviews widely praising the style, and falling into complete lock step with it.

The best line in the book didn't even come from the author, he's quoting Peter Schweizer, "Conservatives who abandon their principles and engage in hypocrisy usually end up harming themselves and their families... Liberals who do the same thing usually benifit" And the author makes a pretty convincing case that while Hollywood rages against Wall Street and big corportations, violence, and conservative practices in government, their movies refelct a different truth. They are violence and product placement filled. They will go to any lengths to get the most tax breaks for their movie. He points out how a lot of their actions, go agains ttheir words, but they personally benifit from it.

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whiny at times, but certainly skewers the leftist Hollywood for their many hypocritcal ways.

This book takes on the liberal Left of Hollywood, calling them out on every seeming hypocrisy. Everyone from OBama, Bono, Willie Nelson, Brad and Angelina, Kanye, and Gwenyth Paltrow are covered. We learn how they jet around while lecturing others about carbon footprints or tell people they need to pay more taxes while sheltering their own money. Bon Jovi and Springsteen pay thousands less in property taxes than their own neighbors because of loopholes where one raises bees and the other grows tomatoes. Affirmative action is a must - except if you try to apply it to Hollywood.

While the book does get quite whiny and tends to go off on tangents and lost focus, the message isn't lost. It's fun to point-out the ridiculousness of these people and ask ourselves why we would ever take our own cues from hypocrites who are largely uneducated on the issues and only half-ass their way into any given cause. Sting and Trudy travel with a 650 person crew, but he is all about saving the Amazon? Bono wants everyone to send their money to Africa, but incorporates outside of Ireland to avoid their higher tax rate? It just pushes home the reality that we are all so gullible and beauty really does rule the world.

[Robert Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book of Jason Mattera's I've read and both are interesting (the other being "Obama Zombies"). Keep in mind that he's not just criticizing Hollywood, but rather the hypocrisy of specific individuals in the entertainment industry. From singers espousing the working class and big government who skip out of paying taxes to anti-gun, anti-violent rappers and actors who want to literally beat sense into conservatives, to racists who masquerade as high-minded, equality-conscious "progressives", he skewers them all. No, he probably had enough material left over to write a second and third book. I'm glad he wrote this one.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

No real surprises and it is a bit of a rant. This listing of who's who in the Hollywood do as I say not as I do world. He does make a good point about tax policy. If you are a wealthy person who honestly thinks that wealthy people need to pay more in taxes than byvall means do so.
Attn Dept G Bureau of the Public Debt P. O. Box 2188 Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188
Any person whobwants to send extra money to the US Government can just use the above address.

[Stephen Hero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't get me wrong. Hollywood being so hyperbolic about everything opinionated is all so thoroughly entertaining to me. It is, however, seemingly just not too sensible or practical. And it can certainly be viewed as overtly preachy or slightly condescending.

But I can't have it both ways either.

I live in the greatest country in the world because my country has Hollywood, and, to a lesser extent, because the headquarters of the UN and off-Broadway are also located within the US of A.

[Arwen Bicknell · Rating 3 out of 5]

What you get is exactly what you'd expect with a title like this. It was interesting, and I think he actually makes some good points (i.e., asking why celebrities who clamor for higher taxes on the rich still look for shelters and claim deductions on their own rather lofty incomes). I think I might be too old for this one, though; the writing style is such that my inner audiobook was in Jeff Spicoli's voice, and that got little tiresome.

[Kdesoto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was interesting. Some language. Amazing the lifestyles people live and then act differently. Like owning acres of acres of land and not having to pay many taxes because you have someone keeping bees on it so you are a farmer. (that was a badly worded sentence) Those are the people that really like President Obama and have the money to back him up.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did get me angry reading about all the usual suspects and their liberal hypocrisy. I thought the author went over the top, however, in trying to be snarky and clever. A little of that goes a long way and you start looking like you're trying too hard.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If he hadn't called names so much, I would have given this 5 stars. I get that it's part of his schtick, but the facts speak for themselves; he didn't need to be quite so inflammatory. If you can get over that part of things, this is an interesting and quick read.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author lambasts Hollywood and media types for what he perceives to be hypocritical actions. He says that they feel certain rights should be denied the average citizen while they keep them for themselves and take public money.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book - putting in one place all the info that's available. Fun read, but not earth shattering.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read!! Like the author's style.

[Cate Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather tepid recounting of Liberal hypocrisy. Not terrible, but just not something that gripped me.