Actress and filmmaker Justine Bateman called the 2024 presidential election a turning point, declaring it the end of the “woke era” during an interview on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Thursday.
Bateman, 58, expressed her relief at President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, suggesting it signified a cultural shift in the U.S. “This is the end of the woke era,” she said, adding that Americans would no longer have to fear repercussions for their speech or beliefs.
“The political correctness, the woke era is over because you need mob mentality momentum in order to keep that going,” Bateman told the host. “In order to threaten people if they are not thinking and talking the way you do.”
“To threaten their lives, threaten their careers, threaten their place in society,” she added. “You need that momentum in order to do that, and when Trump won [the] presidency again, that cut that momentum off. So, this whole woke era is over.”
She elaborated on her concerns about cancel culture and what she saw as an era of enforced ideological conformity.
“For too long, people were punished for how they thought or what they said, even when it came from a place of honesty or difference of opinion,” Bateman explained.
Bateman’s comments reflect broader debates about free speech and the cultural changes that dominated discussions in Hollywood and beyond during recent years.