Neil deGrasse Tyson left followers divided this week by posing with pink hats that featured variations on President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
On Monday, the celeb astrophysicist posted a photograph on his social media platforms wherein he was seen holding 4 hats that learn, respectively, “Make America Great Again,” “Make America Smart Again,” “Make Lying Wrong Again” and “Relax It’s Just A Red Hat.”
“Decisions, Decisions,” Tyson wrote within the accompanying caption. “Which hat to wear today?”
On X, previously Twitter, he additionally ran a ballot that allowed viewers to vote in favor of the hat they most popular. As of Wednesday, “Make Lying Wrong Again” was within the lead.
Followers, nevertheless, appeared not sure if Tyson supposed it to be seen as an endorsement of Trump, or a skewering of the president and his administration.
“Nothing about the MAGA agenda (which you are clearly attempting to desensitize people to here) is funny,” one individual wrote on Instagram. “As a scientist, and especially a scientist with a platform, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Kristina Bumphrey by way of Getty Pictures
Added one other, “Sorry Neil, have to unfollow. It’s crazy to me that you would follow a white nationalist cult leader that is destroying the greatest country in the world. My mind is blown.”
Others, nevertheless, have been extra supportive.
“Neil is my favorite influencer now,” wrote one, whereas one other instructed he “get 3 more and have one for every day of the week!”
Representatives for Tyson didn’t reply to HuffPost’s request for touch upon the picture. Nonetheless, Tyson has been essential of the Trump administration and its insurance policies in different current social media posts.
“As a tan man from the Middle East, if Jesus were an undocumented American immigrant, I wonder if angry mobs would get ICE to deport him — especially for speaking out against greed and advocating for the poor,” he wrote on Instagram earlier this month.
Tyson isn’t the primary celeb to polarize followers by referencing a pink hat that many perceived as a political gesture.
In November, former Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger drew backlash when she left a supportive touch upon an Instagram picture of Russell Model holding a pink hat that learn, “Make Jesus First Again.”
Scherzinger, who presently stars in Broadway’s “Sunset Boulevard,” later famous she’d “made the mistake of not realizing [the post] could be easily interpreted as being politically related” and apologized.
