Actor and musician Billy Bob Thornton recently appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. During the conversation, Thornton made a startling claim about his early views on the internet.
The celebrated star revealed that he foresaw the internet’s destructive impact on society from the very beginning, recognizing how it would fundamentally alter human relationships and social dynamics.
“I told my wife when the internet first became a thing way back when it first started,” Thornton explained. “I said, ‘Watch and see. This is going to ruin people’s view of each other. It’s going to ruin our society. I promise you it.'”
When pressed by Rogan about what drove this pessimistic prediction, Thornton elaborated on his concerns about access and opportunity becoming a double-edged sword.
Thornton’s prescient warning centered on the democratization of platforms and voices. “Once you start opening it up,” he said, “everyone has an opportunity. They look at that as equality, as an opportunity for everyone. That everyone can get on the internet and now everyone can do something. That’s great for the people that actually had something to say or do. But then you got another 80% who have an opportunity and all of a sudden there’s someone because they decided to take pictures of themselves in the bathroom or something.”
The actor’s concerns have proven remarkably accurate in the decades since the internet’s mainstream adoption. Social media has created countless celebrities famous merely for being famous, while legitimate talent sometimes struggles for recognition.
The phenomenon Thornton predicted has become so pervasive that entertainment industry professionals now make casting decisions based primarily on social media followings rather than actual ability.
Beyond the entertainment implications, Thornton’s early skepticism addressed deeper societal fractures that have only intensified. He pointed to how the internet and social media have exacerbated political divisions, created echo chambers, and enabled unprecedented levels of hostility between people who disagree.
“We’re in a society now where nobody wants to… it’s a ‘get me’ society,” he observed. “They’re going to get you. However, they can get you, they want to get you.”
The conversation also touched on how excessive access to celebrities and public figures has stripped away the mystery and magic that once defined fame. Thornton contrasted today’s environment with earlier eras when movie stars like Jimmy Stewart were only seen on film, creating a sense of enchantment that has been lost.
“I think we’ve had too much of a peek behind the curtain,” he said. “I believe I think there’s we’re too exposed. There’s too much access to people.”
While he acknowledged the internet’s benefits—particularly in giving talented people outside traditional systems a platform to showcase their work—his primary concern about the degradation of civil discourse and interpersonal relationships has proven disturbingly accurate.