Kelsey Grammer refuses to back down from conservative values despite Hollywood pressure
Kelsey Grammer’s politics may have lost him some friends, but he’s says he’s gained others along the way.
The beloved "Frasier" actor told Raymond Arroyo on the "Arroyo Grande" podcast this week that he knows the truth about his own character.
"I realize that because I’m a conservative, I’ve been a conservative for a long time in Hollywood, and I’ve heard a lot of things said about us, I hear a lot of things said about us, that are quite remarkable, but something I finally figured out was when I’m called a racist, I know it's not true." he said. "And the thing is, so do they."
Arroyo said that it's unfortunate there's "no place to come together" between political parties in the current climate, but Grammer said he believes liberals and conservatives still have common ground, "but it just isn't popular … it’s not the go-to place."
"I’ve lost some friends through the last few years, but I’ve gained others," he admitted. "Things are OK."
When asked by Arroyo if politics ever come up with more liberal actors, giving the example of Pedro Pascal on the new "Avengers" movie in which they both star, Grammer said, "I don’t know if Pedro knows my politics, I don’t really know his."
But he said they did find common ground on the #MeToo movement, which he claimed Pascal, who is a vocal LGBTQ supporter and critic of President Donald Trump, called "weak."
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"The left is always looking for something to be upset about," Grammer said. "And they thought they found something, and they realized they were kind of eating their own. And [Pascal] basically enumerated that for me and I thought, ‘Well, that’s kind of interesting.' And it surprised me because I thought — I was aware he was more on the left-hand side of things."
But the "Cheers" actor said he really likes him, and "we’ve gotten along splendidly."
Grammer also discussed his faith during the podcast, explaining that several times in his life, he’d said he was done with God, "but He wasn’t done with me."
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He admitted that he felt the furthest from God after his little sister Karen was murdered in 1975 at 18 years old.
In the immediate years after his sister’s murder, Grammer said he would "sort of haunt the streets and look for a fight, I was upset."
At one of his sister's killer's parole hearings, Grammer said he told the man that he forgave him but he still felt he didn't deserve freedom.
"He murdered more than one person, and he did it knowing what he was doing," Grammer explained. "There have to be consequences. Accountability has to be something we still have in this country. I mean, that's probably why I'm conservative in a lot of ways."
Still, he said he's against the death penalty.
"I'm a pro-life guy," he told Arroyo.
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Grammer also remembered after he made the movie "Jesus Revolution" in 2023, he was invited to Angel Stadium in Los Angeles for the evangelical Harvest Crusade and took the field at his daughter, Faith’s suggestion, to speak to God.
He said he called in what he refers to as his "limping faith" and asked God about his sister’s murder: "So, where were you?"
He recalled asking God, "What was going on?", tearing up as he spoke to Arroyo. "After a few minutes, I just heard a little, ‘I was right there.’"
He said he heard that voice a few more times when he was writing his 2025 book "Karen: A Brother Remembers." He said he heard her say, ‘I was here’ when he went to visit the dorm she lived in before her death.
"That was really nice, but then on the return trip from that was when I really had the epiphany, like a conversation sitting on a plane, and the voice basically said, ‘Don’t you think it’s time for you to give it up?’" He said it was Jesus’ voice.
"I said, ‘No, it’s OK, I’ve carried it this long, I can still handle it. It’s mine.’ And he said, ‘No, it’s mine. That’s why I came.’"