James Woods Leaves GOP, Calls Lawmakers Traitors

Woods praised the late filmmaker - a staunch liberal - for saving his career and described him as a ‘Godsend in my life’ during a December appearance on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime. 

He also criticized those speaking poorly of Reiner, emphasising that political differences should not erase personal respect.

‘I judge people by how they treat me, and Rob Reiner was a Godsend in my life. We got along great, we loved each other… He was always on my side,’ Woods said.

‘When people would say to me, "What do you think of his politics?" I would say, "I think Rob Reiner is a great patriot." Do I agree on many of his ideas on how that patriotism should be enacted, to celebrate the America that we both love? No. He doesn't agree with me either, but he also respects my patriotism. 

'We had a different path to the same destination, which was a country we both love.’

Woods went on to describe how Reiner gave him a career-saving role in the 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi, which turned his trajectory around from being ‘basically out of a job’ to landing an Academy Award nomination.

‘Rob literally saved my career and really put me back on track,’ Woods said. ‘He really fought for me when the studio didn't want me in a movie. He was somebody I love, respect, and cherish.’

He added that Reiner, unlike many others, refrained from criticising figures like Charlie Kirk after his assassination, demonstrating the respect and integrity that Woods admired.

‘I knew Charlie Kirk, I supported him… people said some such horrible things, and Rob did not,’ Woods said.

Throughout, Woods emphasised that political differences did not diminish his personal admiration for Reiner: ‘I am just absolutely devastated. I loved him as a friend, as an artist, as an icon of Hollywood, and as a patriot.’