Kevin Costner had some words of praise for the recent No Kings protests.
The 70-year-old actor participated in the Silk Speaker Series at the University of San Francisco in California on Saturday, October 18. Kevin was a last-minute replacement for actress Nicole Kidman, whose USF appearance was postponed to April. The only reason given for the postponement was “scheduling conflict.” Kevin’s speaking engagement at the Silk Speaker event coincided with the No King protests, also known as No Kings 2.0. Although his talk took place hours after the protests, Kevin took the opportunity to acknowledge the demonstrations.
“What’s going on in this city? How cool is it that people are flexing today?” the Yellowstone star said to the audience. “It doesn’t matter whose side you’re on right now. We can all recognize what we feel, but at least we’re still able to express it. Continue to do that, make a difference. You really do count.”
“If you don’t count yourself (in), that’s when you can count yourself out,” Kevin added.
No Kings 2.0 rallies were a follow-up to the initial ones in June, which protested President Donald Trump and his administration. The October No King protests remained protesting Trump, his administration and his policies as well as the government shutdown. The organizers stated on their website that more than 7 million people were at more than 2,700 events in 50 states, DC, and cities globally.
Kevin’s USF appearance comes as the producer and director is facing allegations against him and legal troubles
The Hollywood Reporter released a explosive piece, published on October 8, about Kevin allegedly being unprofessional and difficult to work with as they cited alleged on-set tensions and lawsuits. The piece included alllegations of Kevin feuding with his Yellowstone costar Wes Bentley and the neo-western’s creator Taylor Sheridan.
Then on Thursday, October 16, a judge rejected Kevin’s request to throw out a sexual harassment and hostile workplace lawsuit filed by stuntwoman Devyn LaBella.
In May, Devyn filed a lawsuit against The Dancing with Wolves director and the production companies behind Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2. Devyn also filed an amended complaint in June. She claimed that she “was the victim of a violent, unscripted, unscheduled rape scene directed by Kevin Costner.”
The stuntwoman was hired as a stunt double for Horizon 2’s lead actress, Ella Hunt and was supposed to stand in for Ella “during physical scenes,” including doing stunts, per the complaint.
Devyn alleged that she was was forced to do an unscripted and impromptu rape scene “without proper notice, consent, preparation, or appropriate safeguard measures in place,” which additionally wasn’t “within the scope of her role as a stunt double.” She claimed that no stunt and intimacy coordinators were present when the scene was filmed and that she wasn’t sure when the scene began or ended as Kevin allegedly never said “action” or “cut.”
Kevin has vehemently denied the allegations and accused Devyn’s claim of being “a blatant lie” in a motion to strike that he filed in August.
