What in the World Was Ryan Reynolds Thinking?
Star trashes Reagan's America while promoting pro-Reagan's America film
Most celebrities haven’t a clue how to market their own movies.
They’re actors, not PR professionals. That doesn’t help their cause.
It’s worse than that, though.
Too many stars use their promotional time to torpedo their work. The classic modern example? Rachel Zegler attacked half the country and mocked the source material behind her live-action “Snow White” reboot.
Said reboot crashed and burned at the box office, but she’s not alone.
Many stars use magazine interviews and red carpet chats to disparage large swaths of the country. Others uncork hypocritical lectures that land with a thud.
And then there’s Ryan Reynolds.
The Canadian star could quit Hollywood tomorrow and have a thriving career in marketing. He’s quick-witted and sly, a superstar who single-handedly made the “Deadpool” character a sensation.
Most audiences had no clue about the Marvel Comics character prior to 2016. Reynolds made it his mission to introduce the Merc with a Mouth via funny, snarky video shorts.
He did it again for the sequel, leaning into the funny along the way.
He’s also business savvy, investing in companies like Mint Mobile and making millions in the process.
He hit the red carpet this week to promote “Mayday,” a buddy comedy set in the 1980s. The Apple TV original finds him playing a Maverick-type character who gets stranded behind enemy lines in the Soviet Union.
Enter Nik (Kenneth Branagh), a former KGB agent who loves American culture and tries to rescue him.
It’s a dizzying action-comedy hybrid, with a surprising amount of pro-American sentiment. It’s also unabashedly in love with ’80s pop culture, from Bruce Springsteen tunes to “Top Gun.”
Of course.
So how is Reynolds hawking “Mayday?” By trashing the 1980s. Really.
Ryan Reynolds says ’80s nostalgia “paves over all the trauma” of the “tumultuous” decade:
“The 80s was a brutal, brutal time for people. It was a fucking mess and people forget that. It was a tremendous strife. Socio political tensions everywhere. We were still pretty fresh off… pic.twitter.com/CvNE3KLfff
— Variety (@Variety) September 2, 2026
“The 80s was a brutal, brutal time for people. It was a fucking mess and people forget that. It was a tremendous strife. Socio political tensions everywhere. We were still pretty fresh off a Cuban missile crisis, which was only 15-20 years before. It’s a tumultuous period, but you look back at it now and you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah. ‘Top Gun.’ Cocaine!’ Like, ‘No!’ It was really scary.”
Where to begin?
We can start with his reference to “fresh off the Cuban Missile Crisis,” an event that happened in 1962.
Make it make sense.
More importantly, he’s trashing the decade that his new movie honors. “Mayday” is a love letter to the Reagan era and, to a lesser extent, America. It doesn’t shy away from the country’s flaws, but it celebrates that all-American spirit and trashes Communism.
The trailer even features Neil Diamond’s “America,” for crying out loud. Why in the world would a star with marketing DNA in his blood make such a mistake?
Social media users teed off on Reynolds’ comments.
Literally no one was talking or worrying about the Cuban Missile Crisis. What is he talking about?!
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) September 3, 2026
The 70s were far worse. The 80s were a celebration that the 70s were over.
— AmishDude (@TheAmishDude) September 3, 2026
What made the 80s special was that almost NO ONE — except some teachers who still thought it was the 60s — was uptight.
Everyone was cool. Everyone could take a joke. You never had to walk on eggshells. The girls were cool. Race relations were cool. We all had part-time jobs.…
— John Ocasio-Rodham Nolte (@NolteNC) September 1, 2026
“Mayday” arrives at the end of the summer movie season and right before Fall’s awards lineup begins. It has next to zero buzz despite Reynolds’ presence and could use every ounce of goodwill possible.
This … this is the very opposite of that.
UPDATE: Larry the Cable Guy weighed in on Reynolds’ comments, tongue firmly planted in cheek, of course.
Cuban Missile crisis? Uh no most of us didn’t worry about it. I only talked about it in history class because it was over in 1962! However I did worry in the 80’s about getting that swatch watch I wanted that was sold out. Gimme a break. The 80’s were awesome. The 80’s like any decade had some challenges but we just came outa the Vietnam war era and it was like a total relief. From Reagan to the fall of Soviet Union, to some of the best classic movies and songs. Nobody getting cancelled for saying dumb stuff. Nobody dropping f bombs as loud as they could at the mall food court because most people at least still knew how to act in public. I was 17 Feb 17 1980. Some of the greatest memories of my life. It was like living in a John Hughes movie before I ever knew who he was. I don’t know what Canada was like for this guy in the 80’s but for most of us that grew up in the states in the 80’s it was pretty awesome and if I had a chance and was granted 1 week to go back in time I’d head straight to 1985 even though I was dead broke. I’m sure x will have the normal people bitching and moaning about this post because they live in a constant state of anger but just like in the 80’s I could care less about or have time for idiots that hate everything . The 80’s rocked. Now excuse me while I pop on some Night Ranger and a little Huey topped with some classic Strait. Let’s Git-r-done!
There are a few problems with this. First, Ryan Reynolds is Canadian, not American. He doesn’t know squat about being an American because he was raised as a Canadian. Second, he was born in 1976 and turned 14 in 1990, which means he was not part of the 1980s culture, so he knows squat about the 80s aside from what his parents, teachers, other adults, books, movies, and TV has told him. Third, he is an actor, which means he is not a real human being. As an acctor, he reads lines other people write in a way that another person tells him to and repeats it till that other person feels he got it right. Reynolds creates nothing, provides nothing, and is surrounded by others who are exactly the same. His popularity has given him a platform and the sense that his thoughts have value when they do not. If you want to know about acting talk to an actor. If you want to know about history, read some books or talk to people who lived in the time you are curious about. Your garbage man has a better grasp of daily life and reality than any actor.
Nothing that he said should have bothered you in any way unless you’re a right wing idiot who likes to pave over history with “Everybody Owned Slaves so Slavery wasn’t that bad” type of BS which disrespects the Christians , Quakers and other WHITES who DIDN’T OWN SLAVES and who thought the practice ABOMINABLE.
Now you’re BUTT HURT about A GUYS DESCRIPTION OF A FKING DECADE??? He didn’t blow enough smoke up America’s butt to aid your bullcrap nostalgia??? WHEN WAS THE COLD WAR you stupid POS? Yes, many people were WORRIED ABOUT WW3 or GLOBAL NUCLEAR WAR during the 80’s you dumb fk moron. And thanks to The Gipper it was ended.
AI OverviewThe Cold War took place from March 12, 1,947, to December 26, 1991.
I do not know anyone who claims “everyone had slaves so slavery was ok.” It was the Right Wing Idiots who nominated and elected Lincoln. It was the Democrats who argued that slavery was their “peculiar institution and a way of life.” It was the Democrats who seceeded from the United States to affirm their right to hold slaves. Last I checked, it was The Left that denigrates Christians, Quakers, and anyone who disagrees with them. No one is butt hurt about this issue and, having lived through the 80s, I can tell you that the only people that were worried about a nuclear war in the 80s were usually fringe folk digging shelters or drinking Kool Aid. What we were worried about was the Democrats in this country embracing, emboldening, and supporting the rise of communisim around the world and siding with the enemies of America.
No one EVER said slavery was okay because EVERYONE was doing it. DUH! ONLY 4% of the WHOLE USA owned slaves, 96% did NOT. Also, the FIRST slave was owned by Anthony Johnson, a BLACK landowner. Oh, except the Native Americans who made it a practice to make slaves of their enemies. (Just like AFRICA). The 4% only had slaves because there was NO available work force in the New World to hire, and they owned great expanses of land, which they could not plant and harvest, single-handedly. Nobody just decided willy nilly to enslave Africans. African Kings were selling off their captive Enemy tribal members, and didn’t care who to. The Dutch started buying them, Queen Elizabeth I heard of it, and decided it was a handy solution to the farm worker shortage of the New World. It was not about racial hatred, it was about money, and the desperate need for help, and said help appeared at the right (wrong) time. Had thousands of single men, looking for employment suddenly turned up at that time, there never would have been Black slaves in the New World. Unfortunately, the men were married, had small farms of their own, which needed to be planted and harvested to feed their OWN families. No time to help the 4%. Study history before you go on a tirade.
I was born in 1975, so I know the 1980s like my own name and will NOT be seeing that movie because of his trashing the era.
Why can’t they just say “I’m honored to have a major role in this movie that I hope everyone will enjoy. It’s got a great cast, great crew and great script. For those who were around in the 1980s, it should bring back some nostalgic memories, and for those who weren’t, it might help give them an idea of what that era was like through a comedic lens. So go see the movie, I’m confident you will have a good time.”
I know actors aren’t half as smart as they think they are, but even they should be smart enough to understand that. Or at least their agents should be.
Astonished by Toto’s reaction. I have to think he is in on it, playing along. An important clue to what is happening here is “Reynolds is a marketing genius.” What are we all talking about? His new project. How did that come to pass? Oh, yeah, he pretended to disparage the era in which the movie was set….Heeeey, Wait a minute! He did it again! C’mon, people, “Fresh off the Cuban missile crisis”? How obvious does he have to make it?
I think you give him too much credit. Doesn’t seem like a 4-D chess kinda guy.
I guess he might have a different kind of memory – being Canadian and all! I was in the First Grade during the Cuban Missile Crisis – my oldest Brother was in the Navy so I was worried about him getting blown up! By the 80’s, no one even mentioned the CMC. I guess some of those leftist teachers and Nations might have seen it as a defeat for the USA – idiots! I’ve admired Mr. Reynolds since “Van Wilder”. He’s a very talented actor and obviously a very intelligent person. He definitely played to the wrong audience with his remarks. People should realize that when you are doing a leftist interview and falling in line with their ideology you better be “winking” to show you don’t really mean what you’re saying!
Class of 86 here, can agree the 80’s were the best tine of my life. Coming off Vietman, Carter’s gas lines and double digit inflation/unemployment eventually gave all our parents hope as the Regan admin was able to turn things around. (The press was dishonest and biased back then) For us kids though, what was there not to like?
Reynold’s comments come off as disconnected and absurd.
Ryan Reynolds… another babbling clown of entertainment privilege, some good business sense (Mint Mobile, Aviation Gin, etc), and clever action (or reading scripts). If he wasn’t ‘easy on the eyes’ he likely wouldn’t be a thing. In any event, again… WHO CARES WHAT THESE PEOPLE THINK?! You might as well ask a random person coming out of a Stater Bros grocery store or a Costco employee.
It’s interesting to me that when an artist or an actor becomes rich enough, they start trying to tell Americans how to think. I’ll be skipping this film.
Smells like their hubris begins consuming the view of themselves. Those who are legit and humble and wise say “who cares what we think… we’re just entertainment and I don’t make my career political”.