Morgan Freeman Does Television Voice-Over For North Carolina GOP Candidate [UPDATED: Morgan Freeman Denies It’s Him]
Well this is something you don’t see every day, an Academy Award winning actor doing a voice-over on a television commercial for a political candidate. The candidate is North Carolina Republican B.J. Lawson, and the actor is Morgan Freeman:
There’s been some debate over whether that’s really Freeman in the ad, but Lawson himself confirmed that it was on his Facebook page.
If nothing else, this gets the award for coolest voice-over of the campaign season.
Update: Or, apparently not:
RALEIGH, N.C. — Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman on Monday disputed a Republican congressional candidate’s claim that Freeman recorded a campaign ad on his behalf.
Tea party-backed hopeful B.J. Lawson and his campaign had said that Freeman narrated the candidate’s latest commercial, which bashes Democratic Rep. David Price. Freeman said in a statement through his publicist that no one who represents him ever authorized the use of his name, voice or likeness in support of Lawson.
“These people are lying,” Freeman said. “I have never recorded any campaign ads for B.J. Lawson, and I do not support his candidacy.”
No comment from the Lawson campaign
I read that and thought, “Eh?” — immediately betraying to myself my leftwingedness. I mean, Morgan Freeman for a Republican? How is that possible?? (More leftwingedness, Hollywood=Liberal 99.9% of the time.) Well, my “Eh?” was not all the misplaced. Go read the B.J. Lawson wiki page. This guy is anything but a cookie-cutter Republican or Tea Partier (I know, I know). See especially the Political Positions part of the wiki page. Guy sounds like some weird right-wing Bernie Sanders, if you can imagine that. Hell, I’d vote for him.
Apparently Lawson is claiming he was lied to by the marketers. Interesting twist.