Jake Gyllenhaal’s Beto O’Rourke T-shirt causes Twitter meltdown

Another celebrity just came out in support of Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso), Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) challenger for the Senate. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal went viral after posting a photo of himself wearing a “Beto” T-shirt, and conservative Twitter users are throwing a temper tantrum over his endorsement.

Gyllenhaal is best known for his roles in Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler, Southpaw, and Nocturnal Animals, among others. Lately, he’s preferred to stay out of the political spotlight, although he expressed support for John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004 and shot commercials for the American Civil Liberties Union and Rock the Vote in the past.

So when Gyllenhaal does make a political statement, it’s a pretty big deal. Case in point, the actor turned to Facebook on Sunday to voice his support for O’Rourke, encouraging others to “vote for change, for compassion, for civility, for wisdom,” and to head to the ballot box to vote no matter what.

“Vote because you think the government doesn’t [affect] you or there’s no such thing as a good politician,” Gyllenhaal wrote. “Vote because you can, because we fight for rights by exercising them. Vote for Stacey Abrams and Beto O’Rourke and Andrew Gillum. Vote for Kyrsten Sinema and Jacky Rosen. Take your kids and friends and parents. Vote up and down the ballot—and if there’s no one on there that inspires now, vote anyway.”

Conservatives didn’t take kindly to Gyllenhaal’s O’Rourke shirt. The right-wing Twitter-sphere had a nuclear meltdown and collectively pointed out that he’s not a Texas resident. (He reportedly purchased a “loft-like condo” in New York City last year, according to Variety.)

https://twitter.com/SamElizabethan/status/1059650638144065536

https://twitter.com/YesWesS/status/1059636361353945088

https://twitter.com/anilaredo2/status/1059637680382898176

https://twitter.com/RealTallWolf/status/1059636118180655104

https://twitter.com/1776DEFEATS1984/status/1059679472218042368

https://twitter.com/3nheduanna/status/1059521051191840768

https://twitter.com/freedom69691/status/1059636521806913538

Meanwhile, progressive Twitter users universally fell in love with Gyllenhaal over his support for O’Rourke.

https://twitter.com/unepetitevie/status/1059469266586664960

https://twitter.com/hxileyshxe/status/1059627896942350336

https://twitter.com/amisero/status/1059303355368042496

https://twitter.com/natalietbh/status/1059211545203404800

https://twitter.com/peytonwest16/status/1059657308760928258

Maybe a little too in love.

https://twitter.com/specksofdani/status/1059264634031611904

https://twitter.com/darlingsoIo/status/1059230942672420865

https://twitter.com/atjordanyo/status/1059230257709043712

This isn’t the first time Gyllenhaal went viral in the past seven days. After Rami Malek shot down a fan’s request to take a video together, Twitter quickly compared him to Gyllenhaal, who notoriously prefers to keep his fans at arms’ length. In this case, Gyllenhaal seems to be reaching out to make a real difference in the world, and his fandom is cherishing the moment.

“vote for beto,” one fan tweeted. “don’t let jake gyllenhaal down.”

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