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Actor R. Lee Ermey, Geico's drill-sergeant-therapist, says he was fired from commercial for criticizing Obama
Published April 06, 2016
“Full Metal Jacket” star and Geico's “Therapist Sarge” R. Lee Ermey said the insurance giant fired him from his commercial spot for speaking out against President Barack Obama, according to a report from TMZ.
Ermey played a former drill sergeant in the commercial, where he called a weeping man a “jackwagon” before throwing a box of tissues at the man in a hilarious and popular commercial for Geico.
But in 2010, Ermey slammed the president’s policies, saying his administration was attempting to “impose socialism” on the American people and, in the process, was “destroying the country,” TMZ reports.
Shortly afterward, he apologized for making the comments, but not before Geico decided to give him the boot. He told TMZ that he was fired over the incident, adding “if you’re conservative in this town, you better watch out.”
Ermey, a Marine Corps veteran, has also appeared in films like “Apocalypse Now,” “Mississippi Burning,” and “Leaving Las Vegas,” as well as voicing characters in the “Toy Story” films and “Family Guy.”
Geico tells Fox News that Ermey was not fired and the company had simply moved on.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/actor-r-lee-ermey-geicos-drill-sergeant-therapist-says-he-was-fired-from-commercial-for-criticizing-obama