JD Vance: Hillbilly Elegy director Ron Howard criticizes Donald Trump's “disappointing” vice president

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Hillbilly Elegy Director Ron Howard has lashed out at JD Vance, claiming that Donald Trump's Republican vice presidential candidate has “changed” since he first met him.

Earlier this year, Vance was selected as Trump's possible vice president for the 2024 US presidential election – but before his political career he was known as a memoir author Hillbilly Elegywhich was later adapted into a Netflix film of the same name.

Since being announced as Trump's running mate, Vance has been criticized for comments in which he referred to women such as Trump's presidential rival Kamala Harris as “childless cat ladies.” This sparked swift backlash and accusations of sexism, with Vance claiming the remarks were meant to be “sarcastic.”

While Hillbilly Elegy While “The 40 Fingers,” who played grandmother Mawmaw in the film, made a subtle dig at Vance himself, Howard has now shared his views on the controversial character after being asked about him during an appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

When asked about the “unleashing” of the “polarizing, unpredictable conservative,” the filmmaker replied: Deadline: “Well, we didn't talk much about politics when we were making the film because I was interested in his upbringing and this story of survival. That's what we mainly focused on.

“However, based on the conversations we've had during this time, I have to say I'm very surprised and disappointed by the rhetoric I'm reading and hearing. People change, and I assume that's the case. Well, it's on the record.”

Howard continued, “When we spoke at the time I knew him, he was neither politically active nor did he claim to be particularly interested. So that was then.”

He told the broadcaster: “The most important thing is to recognise what is happening today and vote.” “And that is my response. It is not really about a film that was made five or six years ago. It is, but we have to respond to what we see, hear, feel now and vote responsibly, whatever that means. We have to participate. That is my response.”

In the film, Amy Adams plays Vance’s mother Bev, while Vance himself is portrayed by The Night Agent Actor Gabriel Basso.

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Before Vance was even a few steps away from the most powerful position in the world, he was just a self-described “hillbilly” growing up in the Appalachian Mountains and living in poverty, desperation, and neglect. His path to Yale Law School was documented in the memoir: which was published in 2017.

In the introduction to his book, he said: “I will be the first to admit that I have accomplished nothing great in my life, certainly nothing that a complete stranger would pay money to read about. I am not a senator, I am not a governor, and I am not a cabinet secretary.”

The film was described by The IndependentCritic Clarisse Loughrey called it “a sickeningly irresponsible parade of death and despair.”