Woody Harrelson's Reddit Disaster Makes Users Boycott Film
Woody Harrelson attempted to promote his new movie Rampart on social news website Reddit this weekend turned into a disaster.
The 50-year-old actor started an Ask Me Anything thread, but when users started asking him about his career, life, political views, and philosophies, Harrelson responded with bland answers, and tried his best to tailor all replies to his new movie, "Rampart."
Reddit users- dubbed "redditors"- were not impressed with Harrelson's self promotion.
"You said AMA. That means 'Ask Me Anything.' Not 'Ask Me Anything with regards to this movie I'm pushing,'" fumed one user, joetoc, when his question remained unanswered.
It only got worse from there.
Because of Harrelson's unconventional lifestyle- he is a vegan and raw foodist, an enthusiastic supporter for the legalization of marijuana and hemp, and has been arrested several times for various offenses- Reddit users asked the questions most fans would want to know.
"How long have you been a vegan? What got you into it? Principles or health reasons?" quizzed TheSeeker00.
Harrelson managed to field this question rather well, replying that the choice was an "energetic pursuit" and briefly discussing his "compassion for animals." Soon, however, he encouraged redditors to "focus on the film," which did not go over well.
None of the questions were about "Rampart," which Harrelson seemed overly eager to discuss. Still, when redditors tried to tailor their queries to the thespian's acting career, he refused to discuss anything but his new current movie.
When asked about his most difficult role, Harrelson predictably answered, "Can I say rampart?" saying he didn't "give much thought" to other roles.
Eventually, the various users on the AMA thread had had enough, and began to mock and castigate the actor mercilessly.
"This isn't The Tonight Show and I'm not buying your bulls---," typed redditor razorsheldon furiously. "It was too bad you couldn't just open up to your fans with honest answers instead of peddling your latest movie. Oh well, I'll just assume some clueless PR person convinced you to do this."
Continuous comments like that prompted users to unanimously boycott "Rampart," and Harrelson left the chat 15 minutes after it started- defeated.
"I consider my time valuable," typed Harrelson before signing off.
It's entirely possible that Harrelson simply misunderstood the intent and style of Reddit, as his very first post included, "Bring on the questions on Rampart!" with a link to the movie's Twitter account.