Jim Carrey called out by Venezuelan journalist over support of socialism
By Sasha Savitsky | Fox News
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One week after Jim Carrey suggested we "say yes to socialism," a Venezuelan journalist is speaking out against the actor's suggestion.
“We have to say yes to socialism — to the word and everything,” Carrey, who’s among the richest in Hollywood, said last week on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” show. “We have to stop apologizing.”
In an article published in the Venezuelan outlet Runrunes, columnist Laureano Márquez argued that socialism is the root cause of the country's current state of crisis.
"Dear Jim, I admire you a lot, but sometimes it seems that the inability of Hollywood stars to understand politics is directly proportional to their talent," Marquez began his column.
"I read that...you said: 'We have to say yes to socialism, to the word [‘socialism’] and to everything.' Perhaps for you, as for all humanity, the word 'socialism' sounds beautiful," he continued.
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The journalist then went on to explain that while many define socialism as "the antithesis of selfishness, synonym of concern for others...support for the weakest and their needs, of seeking health and education for all," in reality Marquez believes socialism today has "deep threats."
"[In] Venezuela, what we find is just that our regime is not – for God’s sake – the antithesis of selfishness," he wrote Wednesday. "In Venezuela, dear Jim, from what I have just told you, there is no equitable distribution of wealth; wealth is concentrated, as rarely before in our history, in very few hands."
Marquez explained that people in Venezuela are "at God's mercy" and are fleeing the country "however way they can" as they do not have access to medication, food or other basic needs.
"[This is] a tragedy that is compounded by the denial of a regime that claims that the population has never been better."
A rep for Carrey did not return Fox News' request for comment.
The United Nations says that more than 1.6 million Venezuelans have left their country since the start of 2015, generating an international migrant crisis that has set off alarms in South America and recently led to violent confrontations between migrants and local populations.
Venezuela's socialist government denies there is a migrant crisis, with Vice President Delcy Rodriguez recently declaring that images of desperate migrants walking across Colombia were staged by Venezuela's enemies to justify an intervention.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
