In a freewheeling interview with Playboy, actor Gary Oldman has been grabbing headlines for his uncensored rant against political correctness in the entertainment industry. He's defended Mel Gibson and Alec Baldwin and he's said Jon Stewart and Bill Maher play by a different set of rules than non-liberals in Hollywood.
When Playboy asked him "Who speaks the truth in this culture?" Oldman cited Fox News analyst Charles Krauthammer.
"There are a number of people. A voice I particularly like is Charles Krauthammer. I think he’s incredibly smart," Oldman said. "I think he’s fair, very savvy, and politically insightful, so I enjoy watching him."
Then Oldman pivoted from praising Krauthammer, intellectual hero of conservatives everywhere, and in the very same breath, he praised David Bowie:
There are artists as well, like David Bowie, where there’s an autonomy. He recorded his most recent album and didn’t even announce he was doing it. He was in a position where he thought, listen, I haven’t produced anything for 10 years. If this is no good, then I can just put it in a cupboard and no one need ever know. But he wrote the songs, picked the cover. I’ve always admired David. I’ve known him about 30 years. We’re friends. And David can constantly reinvent himself because he’s so talented. He has a point of view.
Now clearly Oldman was focusing on Bowie artistic career in his comments but the fact that he included Ziggy Stardust in the exact same thought stream as Krauthammer has to make you wonder. Oldman was specifically asked "Who speaks the truth" immediately after he railed against liberal hypocrites in Hollywood. His immediate response was Krauthammer and Bowie.
Finding some understanding of Bowie's political leanings is not very easy. Interestingly, in his own interview with Playboy in the mid 1970's, Bowie expressed interest in visiting President Gerald Ford:
PLAYBOY: Steven Ford, the President’s 20-year-old son, is one of your biggest fans. What did you talk about when he visited you in Los Angeles?
BOWIE: Steven Ford? He likes to talk about horses. I told him I could ride horses English style. He said that he rode Western style and knew that riding English style was a lot harder. I agreed with him and said, "Yes, it has a lot more to do with etiquette and discipline than to do with horsemanship." He agreed. That was it, really. I liked him very much. I asked him what he thought of using rock ‘n’ roll as a political vehicle.
PLAYBOY: And what did he say?
BOWIE: That’s when he started talking about horses.
PLAYBOY: Did he invite you to meet Gerald?
BOWIE: No. I invited myself. I said if I’m ever in the area, would he invite me down? He sort of reluctantly said yes. I don’t know what he’s worried about. I was a very butch gentleman with him.
National Review named Bowie's song "Heroes" as one of the top conservative rock songs of all time.
He recently spoke out against the Scottish independence movement, a position that does not necessarily reveal his political world view as both Labour and the Tories oppose the Scottish split.
We also know that one of Bowie's pals is Mick Jagger who recently expressed his admiration for Conservative Party icon Margaret Thatcher.
I think he must be right-of-center. After all, could a liberal write a lyric like this:
"Ground Control to Major Tom, take your protein pills and put your helmet on"
Would they even try?