Danny Trejo’s son Gilbert is pushing back against backlash over Danny’s role in “Pawn Shop.” The controversy arose because conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire is producing the film.
Gilbert claims that his father did not know about Shapiro’s involvement when he signed on for the project.
Gilbert Trejo says Danny had never heard of Ben Shapiro before the film controversy
According to Just Jared, Danny Trejo has faced criticism since the cast of “Pawn Shop” was revealed. According to Deadline, the film follows a federal agent seeking refuge in a Minneapolis pawn shop.
Danny plays the shop owner. Gilbert argued that the role portrays the life of a hardworking Mexican man seeking peace. He also addressed the controversy on Instagram Stories and claimed that his father was unaware of Shapiro’s involvement during the early stages of the film.
“For anyone seeing this s*** with my dad…,” he wrote, explaining that the project had been described as “a complicated story about a complicated time, where everyone looks bad except you, the hardworking Mexican shop owner who just wants peace.”
“He jumped at the idea of playing a good guy. About 2 weeks into shooting everyone, including us, found out Ben Shapiro was involved,” Gilbert continued. “My 82-year-old dad has never heard of Ben Shapiro, I had to explain to him who that is, and what kind of guy he is.”
Gilbert also claimed that contractual obligations prevented Danny from withdrawing from the film or criticizing it publicly.
“It’s f***ed up. He’s handcuffed to this stupid project, and swaths of people have instantly turned their back on him without knowing any of the facts. Ben Shapiro got Mexicans to abandon one of their heroes, got his own name to the top of google’s searches, and made us look like angry fools lacking any nuance. He wins,” he said.
The production also faced confrontations in Montana. Authorities suspended filming in October before allowing production to resume under a revised film permit. Shapiro responded by calling the suspension a “violation of the First Amendment.”
