George Clooney Defends Paul Dano After Quentin Tarantino Comments

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George Clooney is saying good night to this Quentin Tarantino take. 

Following Quentin Tarantino’s recent harsh comment calling Paul Dano a “weak actor,” George Clooney defended him. Clooney stressed the importance of supporting and celebrating each other within the film industry.

At the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards on January 10th, 65-year-old George, while accepting his Best Actor award for Jay Kelly, explained that the film is a tribute to actors, created by people who appreciate them. He shared that many involved in the project, and people he’s known for years, are actors themselves, and he strongly dislikes seeing actors treated unkindly.

He also expressed admiration for the actors criticized by Paul, going further than what Quentin – his From Dusk Till Dawn co-star – had said. This shows his appreciation for the entire cast of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

He also mentioned Paul Dano, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Lillard, saying he’d be thrilled to work with any of them. He repeated that he’d be truly honored to share a project with those actors.

As a longtime fan, it really struck me when George recently spoke about Hollywood. He made such a powerful point – it feels like we’re already dealing with so much negativity and harshness in the world, and he urged everyone to not contribute to it. It was a simple plea for kindness, and honestly, it really resonated with me.

Quentin was talking about his favorite movies and, while discussing them with Paul, pointed out that Paul’s performance in There Will Be Blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, was the only thing keeping the film from ranking even higher on his list.

According to a recent appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis podcast, critic Mark Kermode believes the film There Will Be Blood would likely be ranked among the top two films of all time if not for one major issue: the performance of Paul Dano. Kermode stated the film is intended to focus equally on two lead actors, but Dano’s portrayal feels underwhelming and unbalanced.

The 62-year-old went on to say, “He’s just not very good.” He described the actor as uninteresting and incredibly weak, even calling him the worst in the Screen Actors Guild.

Quentin stood by what he said, but many of his colleagues quickly defended Paul.

Reese Witherspoon praised Paul Dano as a remarkably talented and adaptable actor. In a Threads post on December 6th, she also highlighted that he’s a true gentleman, having worked with him on Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2014 film, Inherent Vice.

Ben Stiller publicly praised Paul Dano on X (formerly Twitter) on December 4th, calling him “f-ing brilliant” and expressing his strong admiration.

Alec Baldwin didn’t just write a message – he created a video on Instagram to express his admiration for Paul, even declaring his love for the actor.

“I just want to say I love Paul Dano,” Alec said. “And if you don’t love Paul Dano, shh.”

For more celebrities who took their feuds public, keep reading…

 

In January 2024, Bobby (the second person from the left in the picture) spoke about rumors of a disagreement with Tan (in the middle). This came two months after Bobby announced he was leaving Queer Eye after being on the show for eight seasons.

Okay, so I was totally worried, but he finally said it! He told Vanity Fair that him and Tan are going to be okay, which is HUGE relief. Apparently, something happened between them, but it’s private, just between the two of them, and it won’t affect the show, thank goodness! He was really clear that it wasn’t anything romantic, just…something personal they’d been dealing with for a while. I’m still stressed, but knowing it’s not a love triangle or something is…a little better. I just want them both to be happy!

In March 2024, Tan addressed claims that he tried to get his friend Jeremiah Brent to replace Bobby on the show Queer Eye.

Netflix and the production team held extensive auditions. I didn’t recommend my friend for the role, but they ultimately landed it because they were the most qualified. I also want to clarify that I didn’t help them get the part by sabotaging anyone else, as he explained on Instagram.

During a September 2023 game of “Stir the Pot” with her daughter Kelly Osbourne on TopMob News, Sharon Osbourne revealed that she considered actor Danny Masterson, known from “That ’70s Show,” to be the rudest celebrity she’d ever encountered. She described him as a very rude and unpleasant person.

He did not respond to her remarks publicly.

Five years ago, Sharon shared with Larry King that Ashton seemed annoyed when he was a guest on The Talk in 2014, after she mispronounced his name.

She remembered him asking, ‘Who are you and what have you accomplished in this field?’ Her response was blunt: ‘Don’t mess with me, young man, because I’ll completely destroy you.’ She essentially told him, ‘You have no idea who you’re talking to.’

In August 2022, Cassadee Pope and Maren Morris publicly disagreed with Brittany Aldean, the wife of country singer Jason Aldean. This followed Brittany sharing a video on Instagram on August 23rd where she thanked her parents for not allowing her to transition during a phase where she preferred traditionally masculine interests, stating she enjoys her feminine lifestyle.

In a 2022 TikTok trend, JoJo Siwa called Candace Cameron Bure the “rudest” celebrity she’d ever met, explaining that Bure once turned down her request for a photo on the red carpet. Soon after, Cameron Bure apologized publicly, saying she regretted hurting Siwa’s feelings when she was younger and felt bad for not taking the picture. She specifically apologized to Siwa, saying, “I’m so sorry.”

Candace and the other person resolved their differences. However, when asked months later if her network, Great American Family, would ever feature same-sex couples as the main characters in its holiday films, she said it wouldn’t, explaining that the network would continue to focus on traditional marriage.

JoJo, who publicly shared they are part of the LGBTQ+ community in 2021, responded to the actress’ comment on Instagram, calling it “rude and hurtful to an entire community.”

In June 2021, Courtney Love claimed Olivia Rodrigo had copied the album cover art for her band Hole in a promotional photo without proper credit. Olivia responded with a message of support, saying, “Love u and live through this sooooo much.” Courtney then playfully replied, thanking Olivia and offering to share the contact information for her favorite florist in London if Olivia messaged her directly.

While on Watch What Happens Live, the Happy Days actor explained why he and the Forrest Gump star didn’t get along while filming the 1989 movie Turner & Hooch.

I was directing this film, and after just thirteen days, I got a call from Jeff Katzenberg, the producer. He basically told me to pack up and go home – he wanted me off the project. It was a pretty abrupt end to my involvement, to say the least!

Winkler and Hanks’ dog seemed to get along famously. “I really loved that dog,” Winkler said.

He also refused to admit if he’s even seen the flick. 

“You know what you did!”

Anyone who watched The Hills likely remembers that famous line from Lauren, spoken at the start of season three. The drama between them started when Heidi began dating her future husband, Spencer Pratt, and reached a boiling point when Lauren claimed Heidi and Spencer spread a false rumor about her and Jason Wahler making a sex tape.

Tyrese and Dwayne Johnson had another public disagreement after the release date for Fast & Furious 9 was delayed until April 2020. On the same day, a spin-off movie featuring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham was announced, slated for release in 2019. Shortly after, Tyrese said he would leave Fast 9 if Dwayne Johnson was still involved.

Tyrese recently discussed the long-standing conflict with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, telling Van Lathan on The Red Pill podcast that he still hasn’t spoken directly with Johnson, though he hopes to. He mentioned he has spoken with one of Johnson’s producing partners, but not with Johnson himself.

Okay, so I was basically the one everyone was talking through when it came to the franchise – I was relaying messages from a lot of people involved. But honestly, I messed up. I was the only one who actually said all this stuff publicly, and I know that was on me. It wasn’t the smartest move, it wasn’t professional, and looking back, it really wasn’t cool of me to do that.

No more bad blood here.

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry had a long-running public disagreement, rumored to be the inspiration behind Swift’s song “Bad Blood.” The conflict, which supposedly began due to a dispute over a dancer and rivalry during concert tours, was resolved when Perry sent Swift an olive branch as a peace offering before Swift’s Reputation Tour began.

Taylor shared in an Instagram video that she found a real olive branch in her dressing room, saying it meant a lot to her.

Taylor captioned the video, “Thank you Katy.”

For years, Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker, stars of Sex and the City, dismissed rumors of a disagreement. However, those rumors resurfaced when Kim chose not to participate in a third movie and made some pointed remarks about her co-star.

During a September 2017 episode of Watch What Happens Live, Andy Cohen asked Sarah Jessica Parker how she felt about Kim Cattrall telling Piers Morgan they had only ever been coworkers, not friends.

Honestly, hearing her say it just broke my heart. We talked for hours that week, and she was just… lost. She didn’t know how to process it, and it really upset her because she said that wasn’t how she remembered things at all. It felt like a completely different reality to her, and it was devastating to hear.

It’s definitely sad, but I believe what truly connects us is the shared experience we had. It started as a professional collaboration, but over the years, it became something deeply personal. I’m hoping that those years of working on something special, and the connection we all felt, will ultimately be more important than any recent disagreements. It was a real privilege to be a part of something so meaningful for so long.

And though they didn’t film scenes together, Kim did make a small appearance on And Just Like That.

 

Elton John and Madonna have been publicly disagreeing since 2004. The conflict began when Elton, while accepting an award, criticized Madonna’s live performances. He famously told the audience that he disagreed with the idea of her being a great live act, and strongly implied she relied on lip-syncing, stating that anyone who lip-syncs during a paid concert shouldn’t be allowed to perform.

The actress, formerly known for her role on Grey’s Anatomy, caused a disagreement with the show’s creator back in 2008 when she asked to be removed from Emmy Award consideration. She explained that she didn’t think the storylines she was given were strong enough to deserve a nomination.

Shonda Rhimes discussed Katherine Heigl’s departure in a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey on Oprah’s Next Chapter. She admitted it was both painful and predictable. “When someone shows you their true colors, you should believe it,” Shonda explained. “I’ve really taken that to heart, and it’s been a valuable lesson for me.”

The fight between Nicki and Cardi at the Harper’s Bazaar Icon party during New York Fashion Week made headlines everywhere. A month later, Cardi explained what caused the argument with Nicki.

Cardi B recently told W magazine that someone has been repeatedly criticizing her. She explained that she’d talked to this person twice and thought they’d resolved the issue, but the criticism continued.

The conflict truly escalated when Cardi B noticed Nicki Minaj had reportedly reacted to a tweet criticizing Cardi’s parenting, though Nicki claims she didn’t actually engage with it.

Cardi B explained she turned down a potentially hugely profitable Bruno Mars tour because she wanted to be with her daughter. She emphasized how much she loves her daughter and considers herself a dedicated mother. She also responded to criticism about where she met another artist, saying opportunities like that don’t come around often, and she wouldn’t have a second chance to connect with them casually.

The conflict between Kanye West and Taylor Swift began in 2009 when he interrupted her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards. They eventually reconciled and became friends, but their relationship fell apart in 2016 after Kanye released his song “Famous,” which mentioned Taylor by name.

Just before the Grammys in February 2025, Kanye West began following only Taylor Swift on Instagram. He didn’t offer any explanation for the action, and Swift didn’t publicly acknowledge it.

“I don’t know her.”

The supposed rivalry between Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez has been talked about for over 15 years. It began during an interview where Mariah was asked about various singers, and when asked about Jennifer, she famously stated, “I don’t know her.”

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2026-01-12 21:21