‘Sopranos’ Actor Says ‘Bigots And Homophobes’ Are Banned From Watching His Work

Michael Imperioli, an actor best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, thanked the Supreme Court for allowing him to “discriminate” against “bigots and homophobes” after the court ruled in favor of a web designer who did not want to design a cake for a gay wedding.

The Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis has been hailed as a major victory for religious liberty by civil liberties advocates. Lorie Smith, the Colorado website designer in 303 Creative, said that she had no issue with serving LGBT clients, adding that she only rejects requests based on specific messages.

Smith sued Colorado in 2016 seeking to block enforcement of the state’s “anti-discrimination” laws. The U.S. District Court ruled against Smith’s request in 2019, which then sent the case to an appeals court and finally, the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in Smith’s favor 6-3, stating that that, “[T]he First Amendment protects an individual’s right to speak his mind regardless of whether the government considers his speech sensible and well intentioned or deeply “misguided,” … and likely to cause “anguish” or “incalculable grief.”

“Equally, the First Amendment protects acts of expressive association. …Generally, too, the government may not compel a person to speak its own preferred messages. …Nor does it matter whether the government seeks to compel a person to speak its message when he would prefer to remain silent or to force an individual to include other ideas with his own speech that he would prefer not to include. … All that offends the First Amendment just the same,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch

Michael Imperioli had a different interpretation of the ruling, which he voiced in an angry Instagram tirade on Saturday.

“I’ve decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching The Sopranos, The White Lotus, Goodfellas or any movie or tv show I’ve been in,” Imperioli wrote under a screenshot of an article detailing the ruling. “Thank you Supreme Court for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don’t agree with and am opposed to.”

“Hate and ignorance is not a legitimate point of view,” he later added in a follow-up comment before eventually locking the post.

Thankfully, Imperioli does not own the distribution rights for The Sopranos or Goodfellas, leaving him without many options it comes to enforcing his “ban.”