Tim Robbins tells Democrats to drop the outrage and ‘get their stuff together’

Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins has a blunt message for the Democratic Party: stop coasting on outrage and start offering voters something to believe in.

Speaking Monday on the “SmartLess” podcast with hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, Mr. Robbins said Democrats need a fundamental rethink of their message rather than a continued reliance on opposition to Republicans.

“I got to say, there’s got to be better ideas and better motivation for people to vote for Democrats,” Mr. Robbins said. “They have to get their stuff together. They really do.”

The 67-year-old “Shawshank Redemption” star, who has long identified with the political left, said he’s grown weary of both parties and argued that outrage has become a substitute for genuine political purpose.

“The idea that you can find your worth and purpose and virtue by hatred is this terrible, terrible idea,” Mr. Robbins said.

He went further, cautioning against directing that anger at individual political figures rather than the ideas they represent.

“The idea that if the source of your hatred is a particular person you don’t know, it’s even a worse idea,” he said. “You’re battling a concept or an idea or a philosophy. You’re not dealing with an individual.”

Mr. Robbins said the pattern cuts across the political spectrum, not just among Democrats.

“So I feel like there’s too many people that wake up agitated about political figures … on either side and it’s not a good way to start your day,” he said.

His prescription for breaking the cycle: Step away from the phone.

“If the first thing you’re doing is doomscrolling about something that will make you feel better about your political beliefs, you know, you might try a little yoga, or you might try a little exercise or take a bike ride,” Mr. Robbins said.

The remarks build on comments Mr. Robbins made last month describing how an ayahuasca ceremony helped him let go of years of political anger. Discussing the experience on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Mr. Robbins said he’d entered the ceremony hoping to shed resentment that had built up over the country’s political divisions.

“I was frustrated with feeling anger about what was going on in the world, and I said, ’I want to release that. I don’t want to be consumed by that anger,’” Mr. Robbins said of the revelation.

Mr. Robbins, once known for outspoken left-wing activism, has increasingly positioned himself as a critic of political tribalism on both sides in recent years. In July 2024, following the assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump, he took to X urging people to “get over your blind hatred” of political figures they oppose, writing that the shooting should have been a moment for national unity rather than division.

Mr. Robbins won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 2003 film “Mystic River” and has starred in films including “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Bull Durham” and “Top Gun.”