James Cameron says the US has turned its back on science: “Going the wrong direction”
Director James Cameron, who has relocated to New Zealand, has hit out at the US, deeming it “a place where everybody’s at each other’s throats.”
The coveted Avatar director appeared on a new episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, where he discussed his move to New Zealand candidly.
He explained the move was a Covid-19 decision: “After the pandemic hit… [New Zealand] had eliminated the virus completely.”
He added, “They actually eliminated the virus twice. The third time when it showed up in a mutated form, it broke through. But fortunately, they already had a 98% vaccination rate. This is why I love New Zealand. People there are, for the most part, sane as opposed to the United States where you had a 62% vaccination rate, and that’s going down – going the wrong direction.”
Exasperated, Cameron continued, “Are you kidding me? Where would you rather live? A place that actually believes in science and is sane and where people can work together cohesively to a common goal, or a place where everybody’s at each other’s throats, extremely polarized, turning its back on science and basically would be in utter disarray if another pandemic appears.”
Though Bensinger deemed the US “a fantastic place to live,” Cameron was skeptical: “Is it?” he questioned, before clarifying that he didn’t move to New Zealand for “scenery,” but instead “for sanity.”
Cameron has hit out at America before, lashing out at Trump’s administration and what the country had become under his rule: “I see a turn away from everything decent. America doesn’t stand for anything if it doesn’t stand for what it has historically stood for. It becomes a hollow idea, and I think they’re hollowing it out as fast as they can for their own benefit.”
Cameron’s latest movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash, has grossed over $1.3 billion globally, hitting the top spot at the box office for five consecutive weeks. This is his fourth to earn over $1 billion at the box office.
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