Julia Roberts says she still loves The Smiths despite disagreeing with Morrissey’s politics
Hollywood star Julia Roberts has stated that she continues to listen to The Smiths despite the controversies surrounding Morrissey.
Morrissey’s name appears in conversation during Roberts’ latest movie, Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, which arrives in cinemas on October 10th, 2025.
Guadagnino’s new movie follows a college professor, played by Roberts, who finds herself at a crossroads when a star student, played by Ayo Edebiri, accuses another professor, played by Andrew Garfield, of breaking professional boundaries. All the while, Roberts’ character has a dark secret she is keeping hidden.
At one point in the film, a character is stunned that his music is playing due to the former frontman of The Smiths’ political views. Morrissey. Notably, in 2018, he wore a badge in support of the now-defunct far-right movement For Britain. He has also been a vocal critic of immigration and regarded Chinese people as a “subspecies” in 2010 due to their treatment of animals.
While discussing cancel culture and separating the art from the artist with The Sunday Times, Roberts used her love of The Smiths as an example of this, stating, “I love The Smiths”, and said if people collectively ignored the work of artists they disagree with, then “we cheat ourselves from having a fully realised understanding”.
She continued, “If you don’t know what it is that you’re being shielded from — how can you know better, do better, create better?”
Roberts then shared, “Some things are big, horrible, ugly. And we can all agree that, yes, that was bad. Let’s not do that again.”
The Pretty Woman also cried out for a degree of nuance from audiences, adding, “But, then, there are other times where you think, well, who’s to say that this should be put in a barrel, set on fire? Who says that? We need nuance.”
Roberts’ latest comments come after she previously said at the Venice Film Festival that she hopes After the Hunt to challenge the perspectives of viewers. She shared of her ambition for the movie: “I don’t know about controversy, but we are challenging people to have conversations and be excited by that or infuriated by that. It’s up to you if you drink martinis or lemonade after the movie.”
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