Is Chris Pratt Really “the Worst Hollywood Chris” — and Why Does It Even Matter?
By: Shannon Ashley
Tags: Politics, Equality, Culture, Social Media, Entertainment

To fully grasp the relevancy of the situation with Chris Pratt, you’ve got to look at the accusations. First, the animal neglect. For years now, people have expressed concerns over the way Pratt treats his pets, along with the way he regards animals in general.

Back in 2011, he made headlines for attempting to rehome his 19-year-old cat over Twitter. In the now-deleted tweet, Chris wrote:

Anyone in the LA area want a cat? Full disclosure, she’s old and prone to accidents. So sweet though.

Chris shared the cat with his then-wife Anna Faris. The cat, named Mrs. White, was adopted by Faris after the feline retired from acting. In conversations with followers, he explained, “She is very sweet and needs a good home. We have pugs and she’s too old to deal. She needs one on one attention.”

But many fans were unimpressed and took issue with the actor trying to rehome his senior cat to any stranger that would have her. In a later-deleted blog post, Chris expressed his frustration at such fans:

Bottom line, and not that this is any of your f**king business weirdos, but my wife and I want to start a family and we ABSOLUTELY CANNOT have an animal that s**ts all over the house. Sorry. If you are a parent you will understand. And if not, that probably explains why you have such a hard on for cats. Just sayin’.

So, Chris and then-wife Anna wanted to have a baby, and they decided that the aging cat was too much trouble. Personally, I don’t judge folks for rehoming their animals. Yet one might think that with all of their resources and money, they’d have better options than to take to Twitter, however.

At the very least, this move suggested a serious lack of empathy. And Chris’s response to the backlash was very immature.

Unfortunately, it’s not the only cringe-worthy pet story from Pratt. In 2016, Chris and Anna made headlines again when their chihuahua was found emaciated and living on the streets. Anna Faris later responded to the resulting outrage by saying their son was allergic to the dog, so they gave it to a supposedly loving and responsible family.

Ultimately, Faris paid a $5,000 fine for re-homing the dog and not contacting the shelter, Kinder4Rescue.

There are many points to consider. In both cases, Anna officially adopted the animals, but people still find it alarming that Chris himself didn’t share concern for the welfare of these animals in his own household.

These days, Pratt routinely makes headlines for having many more pets and farm animals, but people haven’t forgotten these past incidents.

The actor is also an avid hunter, and there have been many memes about him, which Snopes says are mostly false, because Pratt’s statements have been taken out of context and mish-mashed together. Though they are all his words.

It’s worth noting, however, that Chris has made many comments about his love of the sport. Some of them ickier than others.

In an interview for OutdoorLife.com in 2012, he said:

“Hunting is in my blood. My dad and uncles hunted. I didn’t hunt much as a teenager though I longed to. Since I played football and every weekend in the fall consisted of games or practice I was forced to listen to my friend’s hunting stories seething with jealousy. I became passionate about big game hunting when I moved to Utah to shoot the television series Everwood in 2003. I lived there for four years, had the time and money to really get into it and became absolutely obsessed.”

And this:

“It’s true that there aren’t a ton of hunters in Hollywood. That being said, the people I’ve talked to about it are actually fascinated with the subject. I think I’ve changed a few minds regarding the sport. It’s pretty incredible how little people actually know about hunting. Most people don’t even realize there are seasons or tags. They don’t understand the regulations or conservation benefits of hunting. I get a lot of, "Well as long as you eat the meat, I don’t care." I have to be honest with them though. My passion for hunting is not simply the result of a need to feed myself. There’s grocery stores for that! I’m not eating ground hog or coyote! Sometimes people don’t understand and I don’t waste my breath trying to explain it. Either you get it or you don’t. But for the most part people aren’t judgmental about it. We just disagree and move on.”

Then, there was this GQ article in 2014:

“I do a lot of predator hunting, farm varmints, out in Wyoming. Oh, my God. Get a farmer that’s just got too many and he’s like, ’Fuckin’ kill as many as you want.’ I used to go on VarmintFinders.com and the farmers would sign up, and the hunters would sign up, and the farmers will give you exclusive access to their land. So we’d go out there, and the marshal would come out and go, ’Hey, what are you guys doing out here?’ And I’d be like, ’Hey, fuckin’ Jethro Willoughby or whoever said we could.’” Does your wife like you hunting down Wile E.? “She” — in case this is news to you, “she” is Anna Faris, the mega-talented comic actress — “doesn’t like me coyote hunting. She’s like, ’You’re not gonna eat it.’ I’m like, ’Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just like to kill ’em.’ Coyotes are assholes, and they’ll eat your dog.”

And this:

The dove rolls are now off the flames. Pratt, Faris, and I join hands at the table and bow our heads. “I’m sorry, but anytime I kill something, before I eat it, I like to say a quick prayer—just ’cause we did waste this guy. Lord, thank you for these wonderful doves. Thank you for this wonderful food and for this company and for our home and our life. We’re very grateful to be here and pray for the safety of our men and women overseas and for our families and for [Faris’s cousin] and their baby that’s coming right now, as we speak. Lord, let her be healthy and let them be happy. Amen.”

From a 2015 interview for the Guardian:

“I have a great deal of respect for the animals that I kill,” he says, “and I feel remorse and all of the emotions that come with it.” As a non-hunter, I ask him to explain how choosing to kill something and then feeling remorse about it fits together. He leans in, happy to explain. “The thing inside me that drives me to go out and hunt is very animal. But the remorse, emotion and respect I feel, and the closeness to God that I feel when I’m out there, is my humanity. It’s an opportunity for me to explore what parts of me are animal and what parts of me are human.”

Is is a problem that Chris Pratt loves to hunt? I’m a bit on the fence. I understand the arguments for hunting and the need to protect ourselves from predators. At the same time, I do find it strange to be that gleeful about killing animals. That whole bit about remorse and being close to God? That seems… over the top.

I also find it incredibly ironic that Chris Pratt has no problem being so vocal about hunting when he knows it’s such a divisive issue, when he also claims to be rather apolitical.

Again, it looks like we’re dealing with a question of empathy.