{"id":16738,"date":"2025-12-15T15:31:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T15:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/democrats-mourn-death-of-hollywood-star-and-activist-rob-reiner\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T15:31:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T15:31:46","slug":"democrats-mourn-death-of-hollywood-star-and-activist-rob-reiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/democrats-mourn-death-of-hollywood-star-and-activist-rob-reiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats mourn death of Hollywood star and activist Rob Reiner"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Democrats are mourning the death of actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer Reiner after they were found dead in their California home on Sunday. The Hollywood star was known not only for classic films like \u201cThe Princess Bride\u201d and \u201cWhen Harry Met Sally,\u201d but for his outspoken support of progressive causes.<\/p>\n

Former President Barack Obama said he and Michelle Obama were \u201cheartbroken\u201d by the news. Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Reiner \u201cfought for America\u2019s democracy.\u201d And former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called him \u201cremarkable and excellent\u201d in everything he pursued.<\/p>\n

\u201cRob\u2019s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen,\u201d Obama said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cBut beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people \u2014 and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action. Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose. They will be remembered for the values they championed and the countless people they inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer called the news<\/a> of the Reiners\u2019 death \u201chorrific.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only was Rob an incredibly talented actor & director, he was also a relentless defender of democracy and the values so many of us share,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cHe will be missed dearly. My prayers this morning are with the Reiner family and all those who loved his movies and what he and Michele stood for.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her own statement, Pelosi reflected on Reiner\u2019s contributions<\/a> to Democratic causes.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, Rob cared deeply about people and demonstrated that in his civic activities \u2014 whether by supporting the First 5 initiative or fighting against Prop 8 in California,\u201d said Pelosi, referring to the California Children and Families Commission, which supports programs for children under 5 years old. Proposition 8 was California\u2019s 2008 ballot proposal to ban same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n

Pelosi continued, \u201cCivically, he was a champion for the First Amendment and the creative rights of artists. And professionally, he was an iconic figure in film who made us laugh, cry and think with the movies he created.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reiner and Singer Reiner\u2019s bodies were discovered in their Los Angeles home on Sunday after the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30 p.m., according to The Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Authorities are investigating their deaths as an \u201capparent homicide,\u201d said. Capt. Mike Bland of the Los Angeles Police Department. Police are continuing to investigate the deaths.<\/p>\n

The son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner was a strong supporter of LGTBQ+ rights and early childhood education. Reiner often held fundraisers and campaigned for Democratic issues. In 2008, he co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which challenged California\u2019s ban on same-sex marriage. In 1998, as chair of the campaign for the state\u2019s Proposition 10, which led to the creation of the First 5 initiative, Reiner advocated for funding early childhood development services with a tax on tobacco products.<\/p>\n

He was also a sharp critic of President Donald Trump, previously accusing the president<\/a> of \u201ctreason\u201d and being \u201cmentally unfit<\/a>\u201d to serve in office. In an October interview with BLN, now MS NOW, Reiner compared the current political climate under the Trump administration as \u201cbeyond McCarthy era-esque.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake: We have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy and democracy completely leaves us,” Reiner said<\/a> at the time. \u201cI believe the way to stop it is to educate people who may not understand what democracy is. They may not know what the impact of losing it is. We have to explain it, us storytellers have to explain to them what they\u2019re going to wind up with if an autocrat has his way.”<\/p>\n

Harris on Monday said<\/a> she was \u201cdevastated\u201d to hear of Reiner and his wife\u2019s deaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cRob Reiner’s work has impacted generations of Americans,\u201d she said. \u201cThe characters, dialogue, and visuals he brought to life in film and television are woven throughout our culture. Rob loved our country, cared deeply about the future of our nation, and fought for America’s democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom praised Reiner \u2014 who he called a \u201cbig-hearted genius\u201d<\/a> \u2014 for his empathy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis boundless empathy made his stories timeless, teaching generations how to see goodness and righteousness in others \u2014 and encouraging us to dream bigger,\u201d said Newsom in a statement. \u201cThat empathy extended well beyond his films. Rob was a passionate advocate for children and for civil rights \u2014 from taking on Big Tobacco, fighting for marriage equality, to serving as a powerful voice in early education. He made California a better place through his good works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newsom added that Reiner will be remembered for his \u201cextraordinary contribution to humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the Reiners\u2019 deaths a \u201cdevastating loss\u201d for both the city and the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cRob Reiner\u2019s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,\u201d Bass said in a post on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Democrats are mourning the death of actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer Reiner after they were found dead in their California home on Sunday. The Hollywood star was known not only for classic films like \u201cThe Princess Bride\u201d and \u201cWhen Harry Met Sally,\u201d but for his outspoken support of progressive causes. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16738\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}