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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Entertainment
Brian Niemietz

Mr. T gets 2nd booster shot, then gets mocked by Ted Cruz as ‘Hollywood’

There’s only one Mr. T.

Texas senator and movie buff Ted Cruz took a shot at ‘80s actor Mr. T after the 69-year-old Chicago native tweeted that he was still taking precautions against COVID-19.

“I just received my 2nd Moderna booster vaccine, and I feel good!” Mr. T tweeted. “I am still going to wear my mask and keep my distance because the virus ain’t over, Fool! Grrr.”

While some of Mr. T’s twitter followers praised the fit-and-trim antagonist in the 1982 film “Rocky III,” who also starred on the 1980s TV show “The A Team,” Cruz painted him as a Hollywood elitist.

“Bizarre,” Cruz tweeted. “535 Members of Congress can attend the State of the Union without wearing masks, but it’s still not good enough for Hollywood.”

Cruz, 51, is known to invoke movie quotes while campaigning. He also has a history of taking issue with showbiz characters with regard to COVID-19 vaccinations. After “Sesame Street” character Big Bird promoted vaccines for kids in November, Cruz attacked the fictional yellow bird for spreading “government propaganda.”

Twitter users pitied Cruz as a fool who preaches the value of personal freedoms, but then questioned a choice Mr. T made with regard to his personal well-being. It was also pointed out that the muscular actor appears to be a much healthier figure than Cruz.

Cruz was also mocked for seemingly believing that Mr. T was representative of Hollywood culture.

Former Minnesota congressman and “Saturday Night Live” writer Al Franken shares a May 21 birthday with Mr. T, who is one year his junior. He has famously said, “I like Ted Cruz probably more than my colleagues like Ted Cruz — and I hate Ted Cruz.”

A Morning Consult/Politico poll taken after the start of 2022 showed that 2% of Republican voters would support Cruz in a presidential primary. Cruz, who unsuccessfully sought his party’s nomination in 2016, has hinted he might run in 2024 if former president Donald Trump is not a candidate. He has nearly 5 million followers on Twitter.

Mr. T, who primarily uses his Twitter account to promote the gospel, has 330,000 followers.

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