Bernie Sanders Slams George Clooney for 'Obscene' $350,000 Hillary Clinton Fundraiser
Bernie Sanders thinks George Clooney is part of "the problem with American politics."
The 54-year-old actor has been very vocal about his support for Hillary Clinton -- writing an open letter earlier this month praising the presidential hopeful and slamming Trump -- but Sanders criticized him for taking part in a pair of high-priced fundraisers for Clinton. One event on April 15 in San Francisco is asking donors for $353,400 for two seats at a head table with Clinton, Clooney, and his wife, Amal, Politico reports, and Clooney is hosting his own fundraiser for Clinton at his Los Angeles home the next night, with a price of $33,400 per person.
However, supporters can enter Clooney's contest for two free tickets simply by signing up, and giving the requested $10 donation.
"I have a lot of respect for George Clooney. He's a great actor. I like him," Sanders commented during his appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. "But this is the problem with American politics … Big money is dominating our political system. And [my supporters and I] are trying to move as far away from that as we can."
"It is obscene that Secretary Clinton keeps going to big-money people to fund her campaign," he continued.
Sanders stressed that his criticism of Clooney isn't personal.
"It's a criticism of a corrupt campaign finance system, where big money interests -- and it's not Clooney, it's the people coming to this event -- have undue influence on the political process," he explained.
Earlier this month, Clooney praised Sanders in an interview with the Guardian -- specifically, for attempting to bridge the gap between the rich and poor.
"I really love Bernie Sanders, and am really glad he is in the debate," Clooney said. "He is forcing the conversation to things that never get talked about in US politics: disparity between the rich and the poor, which is getting worse and worse every day.”
However, he made it clear he's still voting for Clinton, suggesting that Sanders' singlemindedness on the topic is also his "downfall."
WATCH: George Clooney Blasts 'Xenophobic Fascist' Donald Trump -- and Is He Quitting Acting?
Of course, Clooney has been much more vocal about his views on Donald Trump, who he slammed in his open letter promoting his upcoming L.A. fundraiser.
"If you listen to the loudest voices out there today, you'd think we're a country that hates Mexicans, hates Muslims, and thinks that committing war crimes is the best way to make America great again," Clooney wrote, calling out Trump's campaign slogan. "The truth is that the only thing that would prevent America from being great would be to empower these voices."
"As this primary process continues, Hillary could soon have an insurmountable delegate lead and with that, the Democratic nomination. That would then make her the only grown-up in the room," he added. "And if ever there was a time for a grown-up, that time is now."
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