Forget about Batman. During an appearance on Fox & Friends Wednesday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said that Dark Knight portrayer Christian Bale “finally had the chance to play a real superhero, and he clearly screwed it up” when playing her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, in the movie Vice.
Her rebuke comes days after Bale made a controversial acceptance speech while winning the best actor actor in a comedy or musical Golden Globe for his portrayal of Dick Cheney, in which the actor thanked “Satan for giving me inspiration for playing this role.”
The invocation of the devil drew mixed responses from conservatives and even members of the Church of Satan, which tweeted, “To us, Satan is a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism, and it serves as an external metaphorical projection of our highest personal potential. As Mr. Bale’s own talent and skill won him the award, this is fitting. Hail Christian! Hail Satan!”
Liz Cheney had a different response, tweeting a 2008 article about Bale’s past arrest for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister, along with the comment, “Satan probably inspired him to do this, too.” While there was no accusation of physical violence, Bale’s sister told the Telegraph that Bale “verbally attacked” them—which Bale has gotten in trouble for in the past. Bale wasn’t charged in the incident due to lack of evidence.
Since its Christmas Day release, Vice has made more than $30 million domestically, according to Box Office Mojo.
Although a fictional Liz Cheney appeared in the film—in a moment of family drama when she was given her father’s blessing to publicly disavowed gay marriage as part of her own political campaign, in spite of the fact that her sister is a lesbian—the real Liz Cheney told Fox that she has yet to see it.
“I haven’t watched the movie,” said Cheney. “We’ve got really important work to do to get the border secure.”
Cheney is currently the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, a role her father used to have in Congress.
This isn’t the first family member of a potential movie subject who has been upset about Christian Bale playing their loved one. The Hollywood Reporter said that Laurene Powell Jobs called Bale on the phone to beg him not to play her deceased husband in Aaron Sorkin’s biopic Steve Jobs. (Bale didn’t end up taking the role, which was later portrayed by Michael Fassbender. Although there’s no indication that the Apple founder’s widow impacted that decision.)
