Kevin Costner as John Dutton on Yellowstone

Former MLB Player Whining ‘Yellowstone’ Suddenly Got ‘Woke’ Clearly Never Paid Attention to ‘Yellowstone’

So it seems as if the lib-pilling movement of Yellowstone has led to conservatives thinking that the show has “suddenly” gone “woke.” Republicans have flocked to the show and thought it was finally something for them, which was odd from the start. If you know anything about series creator and executive producer Taylor Sheridan, he doesn’t make things geared towards the conservative base to uphold their views. Instead, he slowly educates those who think this cowboy show is for them about real issues of the gentrification of the west and how the Native population has been treated there.

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The show has been labeled a “Red State show,” and Sheridan himself has fought back against that. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said, “They refer to it as ‘the conservative show’ or ‘the Republican show’ or ‘the red-state Game of Thrones,’” Sheridan said. “And I just sit back laughing. I’m like, ‘Really?’ The show’s talking about the displacement of Native Americans and the way Native American women were treated and about corporate greed and the gentrification of the West, and land-grabbing. That’s a red-state show?”

All this to say that the show has been quietly showing audiences what is happening in the west and it is, frankly, what Sheridan does best. He forces those who would look at something labeled “woke” and progressive and refuse to watch it to still learn those ideals through something they think is meant for them. Cowboys are not instantly conservatives, and Yellowstone has always driven that idea home.

That’s why former Major League Baseball player Aubrey Huff tweeting about the show is hilarious. Huff took to Twitter and wrote, “Even Yellowstone has gone woke, and gay!” And then he wrote “Sellouts!” with a middle finger emoji. What this tells me is that Huff has not used his brain cells one single time he put on Yellowstone and … it shows.

If you’re confused by Yellowstone‘s wokeness, watch Hell or High Water

(Left to right) Ben Foster and Chris Pine in HELL OR HIGH WATER. [Via MerlinFTP Drop]
(Lionsgate)

I’ll make it easy for those shocked by the very liberal ideas in Yellowstone: Watch Hell or High Water because then you’ll instantly understand Sheridan and what he does best. The movie focuses on the Howard brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) as they are losing their house because the bank found oil on their land and wants to foreclose on it before they have the chance to use it for their benefit. The bank is using their now deceased mother and her sickness against them, and the brothers hatch a plot to stick it to the bank and keep their land.

Even the cops (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) are the bad guys—until they’re not, and Bridges lets Pine’s character live because the two realize that their problems are not with each other but with the establishment trying to take things from them. These themes are in Yellowstone in different ways, and Sheridan continues to show audiences how horrible the idea of the rich and the elite are to those they deem beneath them.

So I hope that helps Huff and those who think that their “red state” ideals are somehow being represented positively on things like Yellowstone in the first place, because truly LOL.

(featured image: Paramount)


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Rachel Leishman
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.