14 DAY TRIAL // Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” may be the king of the box office but it’s getting exactly zero love in Hardin County, Kentucky, where war veteran Ike Boutwell, who owns the MoviePalace and Showtime Cinemas, is refusing to play it.
The reason for the ban is that Mr. Boutwell doesn’t want to promote any of Jane Fonda’s movies because she spoke against the war in Vietnam.
He tells The News Enterprise that he never screened her films after she went public with her anti-war stance, and has no plans of doing that in the future either.
“I trained hundreds of pilots to fly, many of whom Ms. Fonda clapped and cheered as they were shot down,” Mr. Boutwell says.
The fact that she plays Nancy Reagan in “Butler” only makes it worse for him.
“To add to this, I just really think it’s a slap in the face to have a person of treason portray a patriotic lady, Mrs. Reagan. I just think that is throwing gas on the fire,” he explains.
Other veterans have already applauded him for standing up for what he believes is right.