Harrison Ford, Sam Elliott, Martin Sheen, Mark Hamill Narrated Lincoln Project Political Ads

Kevin Winter; Matt Winkelmeyer; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Kevin Winter; Matt Winkelmeyer; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Several influential left-wing celebrities — including A-list actors Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Sam Elliott, and Martin Sheen —  have lent their voices to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, which now faces mounting criticisms and questions following damning accusations lodged against one of its co-founders, John Weaver, who has been accused of sending sexually explicit messages to young men.

The super PAC, founded by anti-Trump Republicans, attracted support from high-profile Democrats who shared the common goal of ousting former President Trump from office. Left-wing celebrities gravitated toward the organization which gained fame as co-founder George Conway routinely criticized Trump, even as his wife, Kellyanne Conway, served as the president’s adviser. On September 11, 2020, for example, Conway declared Trump the “greatest threat to the safety and security of Americans.”

But now, the organization faces unprecedented criticism as one of its co-founders, John Weaver, faces accusations from 21 men who claim that he sent them sexually explicit messages, allegedly offering, in some cases, advice in exchange for sexual favors. One accuser said he began to receive the messages from Weaver as an adolescent.

Still, in its prime, the anti-Trump vitriol continually spewed by the founders and supporters of The Lincoln Project attracted influential progressive figures. While some of Hollywood’s highest-profile figures and most influential executives were donating large sums of money to the Lincoln Project, other stars were lending their voices, narrating political ads produced by the embattled group. Those include Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford, Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, Tombstone actor Sam Elliott, and The West Wing’s Martin Sheen.

The day before the election, the Lincoln Project released an ad narrated by Ford, who heaped praises on Dr. Anthony Fauci, who he said served the American people “tirelessly, honorably, and selflessly.” The ad also featured Trump’s supporters shouting “Fire Fauci” as Trump said, “Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election.”

“Tomorrow, you can fire only one of them. The choice is yours,” Ford said in the ad.

Similarly, Corvette Summer actor Mark Hamill also narrated an ad for the Lincoln Project, focusing on the controversy over counting mail-in ballots coming in after Election Day.

“If he gets his way, many who cast absentee ballots will not have their vote counted. This will deny thousands of troops serving overseas of their most sacred right, stripping the men and women in our military the very freedoms they’ve served and sacrificed to defend,” Hamill said in the ad, concluding that it “cannot be allowed to happen.”

Watch below: 

Sam Elliot participated in a Lincoln Project ad in October, speaking about fathers and sons and knocking the Trump administration’s response to the Chinese coronavirus.

“Our dads weren’t perfect, but they did their best to raise us to be good, to be honorable, to be men of family and faith, but above all, they taught us to own up to it when we did something wrong,” Elliott said, ultimately urging people to “vote for Joe.”

On Election Day, The Lincoln Project released another ad narrated by Martin Sheen.

“Good morning. Today is the first day of the rest of America’s life. One day. One day that will one way or the other, change how this country feels about itself. One last push to get the train back on its tracks,” Sheen said in the ad.

“One day that cannot wipe out the last nine months, or the last four years, but can clear a path for a thousand better days ahead. One day, America on a tightrope. One day when the entire world is watching, like a parent in the stands peeking through their fingers,” he continued, urging American to “come on.”

“One day that will now play itself out right in front of our eyes, hour by hour, vote by vote, with history on its shoulders. One day that will change our lives forever. It is November 3, 2020, America. We have one day,” the Badlands actor said.

The Lincoln Project has pled ignorance following the accusations against Weaver, contending that he “led a secret life that was built on a foundation of deception at every level” and describing him as a “predator, a liar, and an abuser.”

“We extend our deepest sympathies to those who were targeted by his deplorable and predatory behavior,” the organization said in a statement. “The totality of his deceptions are beyond anything that any of us could have imagined and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it. Like so many, we have been betrayed and deceived by John Weaver. We are grateful beyond words that at no time was John Weaver in the physical presence of any member of The Lincoln Project.”

Notably, political consultant Ryan James Girdusky, who broke the story, called the Lincoln Project’s statement “an absolute lie.”

Co-founder George Conway, too, has denied knowing Weaver “very well” despite co-founding the organization with him and penning a shared op-ed in December 2019.

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