Andrew Garfield drew criticism on X on Thursday after taking aim at “billionaires” during a Los Angeles screening of his new film, “The Uprising.”
Footage shared by the film review site The Movie Report shows Garfield appearing alongside director Paul Greengrass as the pair fielded audience questions about the historical action drama, which centers on England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt.
Set in the years following the Black Death, the film follows ordinary people pushed to desperation as harsh taxes from King Richard II’s court, imposed to help finance the Hundred Years’ War, deepen the hardship faced by England’s poor.
One audience member asked Garfield what he hoped viewers would take away from the movie after leaving the theater, adding, “What are you hoping for?”
“Well, first I hope they come and see it, first thing,” Garfield said. “Secondly, I hope it’s galvanizing. I hope there’s some awakening that people feel … that we all feel like our own struggles are being reflected in the struggles of these characters from a distant time and place and that it could be directive.”
“And I hope that if any billionaires watch it, they’re scared sh–less,” Garfield added.
Garfield’s remarks sparked swift backlash, with critics highlighting the substantial wealth the movie star has accumulated throughout his career.
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“When I first heard they were making a period film about Wat Tyler, I was pretty excited. But the more Andrew Garfield talks, the more it sounds like it’s just going to be socialist garbage,” said Rick Davis, an associate pastor at Providence Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. (Garfield plays a fictional lead character named Ploughman in the film, while actor Cosmo Jarvis portrays historical rebel leader Wat Tyler).
Spencer Pratt, a former candidate for mayor in Los Angeles, pointed out what he viewed as irony in Garfield’s statement.
“You mean…like the billionaires who greenlight your movies and stroke all your multi-million dollar paychecks? Or they good?” Pratt wrote. He added, “Ironically, Garfield just got paid like $5M for playing billionaire Sam Altman in Artificial.”
“Hilarious that world-famous, multi, multi millionaire Andrew Garfield is cosplaying as a put upon member of the working class,” Substack columnist John William Sherrod posted.
“More billionaires were involved in making this than will probably ever watch it,” Noam Blum, chief technology officer at Tablet Magazine also posted.
Garfield has starred in major blockbuster films including “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.”
Neither Garfield nor Greengrass responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.