Watch actor blast Fort Worth Stockyards bar after helping promote ‘illegal opening’ plan
Actor Michael Rapaport blasted a Fort Worth bar in a video after he helped promote the business’s planned reopening.
Rapaport, who is known for multiple television series and films such as “Deep Blue Sea” and “Beautiful Girls,” had filmed a video on cameo.com, a site where people can pay celebrities to film personal messages, before the planned opening of the Basement Bar in the Stockyards on Friday.
But the bar didn’t open Friday during the “Honky Tonk Crawl For Freedom.” Instead, about 50 people gathered outside near the Thirsty Armadillo.
In the explicit video posted on CentralTrack on Saturday, Rapaport denied knowing the background on the Basement Bar, which drew national scrutiny after its owners called the coronavirus pandemic lockdown “nonsense” and the COVID-19 threat “grossly over exaggerated” in social media posts last month.
(The video below contains graphic language.)
“You said it was about supporting your bar, supporting the workers and to say [expletive] the haters,” Rapaport said in Saturday’s video. “You didn’t tell me you were using it to try to open up your bar illegally. I don’t support that. I don’t support you. I don’t support fake freedom riders. I don’t support any of that [expletive].”
Rapaport ripped into President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence before returning his ire back to the Basement Bar.
“Stay inside. Everybody is suffering. Everybody is losing money in one way, shape or another,” he said. “Follow the [expletive] rules like everybody else.”
The Basement Bar contends it never intended to open illegally.
In a post in response Saturday to Rapaport, the bar wrote on Facebook, “All the Basement Bar said was they were opening May 1st after the shutdown ends. That was perfectly legal. Then a week later the Governor releases a longer shutdown for bars, while other ‘bar’ restaurants can be open. The Basement then posted a rebuttal but explained that they would follow the rules as they have since March 18th. Then the cameo was posted, which is still hilarious”
Being “cussed out by (Rapaport) is an honor,” the bar’s post said.
The Basement Bar also posted Thursday on Facebook that it decided to remain closed after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced phases to reopen businesses across the state. The first phase, which took effect Friday, including reopening restaurants and retail stores at limited capacity. An approved opening date for bars hasn’t been announced yet.
“Our post a week ago said we would be open May 1st after the shutdown was over,” the Basement Bar wrote on Facebook. “Then Gov. Abbott came out with the ridiculous phases. Where you could go sit at a bar in Chili’s and drink a beer but not at a bar in the Stockyards. Where you can take your dog to get a haircut but a human can’t go to a salon. Where you can sit in a movie theater (dirtiest place ever besides Walmart) but you cannot go to the gym.”
“Even though we disagree with the rules set forth, we will abide by them as we have since day one,” the post concluded. “We thank you all for the continued support. We will be open soon!”
This story was originally published May 2, 2020 at 6:41 PM.
