Danny Trejo has broken his silence amid backlash around his role in Daily Wire‘s latest controversial production, Pawn Shop.
On Friday, the LA-born Mexican-American actor insisted he’s “pro-immigrant,” despite his casting in the pro-ICE film from Ben Shapiro‘s production company and Dallas Sonnier’s Bonfire Legend, which has been protested by locals in Livingston, Montana, where filming has been underway.
“Hey everyone. I want to address some social media comments about me,” wrote Trejo in a statement on social media. “Make no mistake. I am a proud Mexican who has always been and will always be a supporter of my community. I am also obviously, pro-immigrant. I am not pro-ICE. I know where I come from and I know our struggles. I am an actor. My job is to tell a story. God Bless you, Danny.”
The actor’s statement comes after production was temporarily suspended last weekend, resuming with a revised film permit on Tuesday, requiring the crew to ensure food pantry access for locals to the Livingston Food Resource Center, and shielding the public both from the shooting of violent scenes, as well as from noise. The production also agreed to address backlash to their use of private security, ensuring there would be no policing or harassing of locals on nearby public streets.
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Shapiro decried the suspension as “a violation of the First Amendment,” calling the film’s critics “censorious jackasses” who oppose free speech.
Since filming began, locals have protested the alleged use of blank gunshots, pyrotechnics and a staged car wreck without properly notifying residents and businesses, as well as its opening scene, which appears to dramatize ICE’s fatal shooting of Renée Good in Minnesota back in January.
With Rust producer Carter Boehm serving on the production team, the latest collaboration between Bonfire Legend and Daily Wire comes after their last film, Run Hide Fight: Infidels, was picketed by IATSE. Several crew members walked off over labor issues in South Carolina, shortly before Jonathan Majors was involved in an on-set accident that resulted in his co-star JC Kilcoyne needing stitches “all over his hands” after falling through a window.
Deadline has confirmed that the Pawn Shop production is not under an IATSE contract either, while it is under a “conditional start” with SAG-AFTRA.
The synopsis for Pawn Shop reads: “When chaos hits the streets of Minneapolis, a young federal agent is left alone after his partner is seriously hurt and must find a way to survive an increasingly dangerous situation. Seeking shelter inside a neighborhood pawn shop, he becomes trapped with a traditional Hispanic father and his progressive college-age son, forcing three very different men to confront fear, conflicting beliefs and a crisis that tests their courage and humanity.”
In addition to Trejo, the cast includes Harvey Keitel and Henry Thomas.
