Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Matt Walsh Show
Episode: Ep. 1705 – The Real Reason Hollywood Keeps Turning Villains into Heroes
Date: December 10, 2025
Host: Matt Walsh (The Daily Wire)

Overview

In this episode, Matt Walsh offers a sharp critique of a growing Hollywood trend: recasting villains from classic stories as misunderstood anti-heroes or even outright protagonists. Walsh argues that this storytelling shift is a form of cultural propaganda, with far-reaching consequences, especially for children. He connects these changes to broader efforts to erase clear moral boundaries, rewrite cultural narratives, and undermine Christian ethics. Later in the episode, Walsh passionately defends Erica Kirk from recent public criticism following her husband's assassination, challenges media attacks, and responds to comments from public figures like Sam Altman and Tim Walz.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hollywood’s Trend: Villains as Victims

• Old vs. New Disney

  • 101 Dalmatians (1961): Walsh highlights the depiction of Cruella de Vil as unambiguously evil, both visually and lyrically.
    • Quote: “If she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will.” ([05:00])
  • Cruella (2021): The modern remake recasts Cruella as a traumatized anti-hero driven by personal tragedy rather than malice.
    • Walsh commentary: “Moral clarity, not to mention narrative clarity, is completely absent from the remake.” ([11:45])
    • Emphasis on CGI/artificial aesthetic as a metaphor for lost authenticity.

• Broader Trend

  • Numerous classic villains are redeveloped as heroes in modern remakes:

    • Cinderella’s Stepsisters (Netflix's Steps, 2026): Stepsisters are depicted as misunderstood.
    • Rings of Power (Amazon): Orcs are ‘humanized’ and shown as victims of circumstance.
    • Wicked (Wizard of Oz prequel): Wickedness is “thrust upon” the protagonist due to others’ prejudice.
    • Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty): Maleficent’s curse is justified via backstory and betrayal.

  • Quote: “This is a full court press that’s intended to convince children that objective morality does not exist and that Christian ethics is a simplistic, outdated approach...” ([27:13])

• Purpose & Consequence

  • Walsh contends that blurring the lines between good and evil serves to “reprogram the morality of an entire generation.”
  • He distinguishes between adult anti-heroes (e.g., in Breaking Bad or The Sopranos) and these remakes aimed specifically at children.

2. Cultural & Religious Undercurrents

• Erasure of Christian Themes

  • Discusses how original fairy tales (e.g., Grimm’s Cinderella) had explicit punishments for evil; modern remakes remove or soften these consequences.
  • Quote: “You're trying to erase the Christian themes of the Cinderella story...” ([17:29])
  • Argues this is an attack on the idea of sin, repentance, and moral absolutes.

• Propaganda and Indoctrination

  • Asserts that stories denying evil or villainy help “indoctrinate [kids] into supporting and committing acts of evil.” ([18:40])
  • Notable analogy: Compares the phenomenon to a “psyop” designed to manipulate young minds.

• Societal Reflection

  • Links the Hollywood trend to real-life judicial leniency and the push to see criminals as victims—causing confusion about justice and consequences.
  • Quote: “These judges are reflecting [the] trend and driving it at the same time.” ([31:53])

3. Defense of Erica Kirk Amid Public Scrutiny

• Criticism of Jennifer Welsh and Public Attacks

  • Walsh responds to media figure Jennifer Welsh’s harsh comments about Erica Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk. ([35:58] onward)

  • Welsh quote: “She is a grifter. … This woman should be kicked to the curb…” ([36:30])

  • Walsh’s rebuttal:

    • Points out the cruelty and hypocrisy in scrutinizing a grieving widow’s behavior, expressions, or clothing.
    • Quote: “It’s this ridiculous lose-lose scenario... What did she do wrong again? Like, what is her crime?” ([38:23])

  • “Her husband was just shot in the throat on TV in front of the entire world. Maybe she's a little off because of that.” ([40:17])

  • Urges empathy and basic human decency: “If you're one of the people doing this, you should be ashamed of yourself, if you're capable of it.” ([39:45])

  • Criticizes the double standard by people on both political sides.

4. Media, Immigration, and Economic Debates

• Jennifer Welsh on Elon Musk
  • Welsh refers to Musk as a “parasite off the American taxpayer” ([51:58]).
  • Walsh rebuts, noting Musk pays more taxes than Welsh ever will, and mocks the left’s double standards regarding immigrants.

5. AI, Parenting, and Technological Dependency

• Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) on Parenting with ChatGPT
  • Altman remarks on his use of ChatGPT to help raise his child: “I cannot imagine having gone through, like, figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT...” ([56:02])
  • Walsh critiques the reliance on AI for basic life tasks, warning of atrophy in real-life skills.
    • Points out technological advancements often replace skills people already possess, making them dependent and less competent.
    • Quote: “It enables you to do stuff you already know how to do, and then you rely on it and you forget how to do it so that you become helpless.” ([59:07])
  • Also addresses the situation of children raised via surrogacy by same-sex couples, arguing that such children are deprived of natural familial bonds.

6. Mocking Political Correctness

• Tim Walz Incident
  • Addresses reports of people shouting slurs at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s home—a moment Walsh uses for sardonic humor.
  • “Apparently people are driving by Tim Walz’s house and calling him a retard... That’s shameful.” ([66:40])
  • Mocks Walz’s concern about insults, quipping about other possible taunts, and highlighting the performative nature of political outrage.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On classic villainy:
  • “If she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will.” - Lyric from 101 Dalmatians ([05:00])
  • “Cruella de Vil is a genuinely horrible person in the story. Her goal is to steal puppies and murder them... It doesn’t get much worse than that.” ([06:00])
• On Hollywood’s agenda:
  • “You're trying to confuse children about good and evil, and you're trying to erase the Christian themes of the Cinderella story…” ([17:29])
  • “Culture matters and this stuff matters.” ([12:10])
• On the normalization of evil:
  • “The idea is to convince the youth that evil is not a legitimate concept so that they can indoctrinate them into supporting and committing acts of evil.” ([18:40])
• On technology and AI reliance:
  • “It enables you to do stuff that you already know how to do, and then you rely on it and you forget how to do it so that you become helpless.” ([59:07])
• On public decency and grief:
  • “This basic rule of human decency that we all used to understand is, when you’ve got someone who’s grieving… maybe you just shut the up.” ([41:21])
  • “Anyone who has been around this knows that people who are grieving loved ones—they’ll smile and laugh at the funeral… that is normal.” ([44:43])

Important Timestamps

| Segment | Description | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Classic villains vs. modern reinterpretations | Contrasting scenes from 101 Dalmatians and Cruella | 04:33–12:10| | Netflix's ‘Steps’ and the Cinderella retcon | New take on stepsisters, directorial intent, critique | 12:10–17:00| | Fairy tales’ original Christian morality | Grimm’s Cinderella, Old Testament punishments | 17:00–18:40| | Rings of Power and orc ‘humanization’ | Tolkien’s intent vs Amazon's portrayal | 19:50–22:38| | ‘Wicked’ and ‘Maleficent’: villains as victims | Breakdown and analysis | 23:08–27:13| | The deeper purpose of these rewrites | Why ‘right-wing’ retcons don’t exist, cultural implications | 27:13–31:53| | Defending Erica Kirk | Wardrobe/smile criticisms, empathy appeal | 35:58–51:40| | Jennifer Welsh on Elon Musk, immigration | Tax arguments, leftist narratives | 51:58–53:49| | Sam Altman/AI and parenting | The dangers of AI over-reliance | 55:59–62:59| | Tim Walz insult controversy, satire | Mocking performative outrage | 66:07–69:37|

Tone and Style

• Direct and combative: Walsh does not mince words, especially when calling out media figures (“old hag,” “soulless trolls”).
• Sarcastic humor: Frequent use of sarcasm and hyperbolic analogies (e.g., on Tim Walz’s critics, or “right-wing Gaston”).
• Passionate and personal: Intense defense of Erica Kirk and criticism of those who judge grieving individuals.
• Cultural commentary: Strong assertions about the intended effects of Hollywood rewrites and AI reliance on society at large.

Conclusion

Matt Walsh’s episode is a pointed exploration of Hollywood’s ongoing trend to invert moral clarity, recasting villains as misunderstood heroes. He sees this as calculated, not accidental, and an attempt to erode foundational concepts of good and evil—especially harmful for children’s understanding of the world. Beyond media critique, Walsh passionately addresses the inhumanity of public attacks on grieving individuals and the risks of technological dependency, urging listeners to uphold moral clarity and human decency in personal and cultural life.