The entertainment industry is taking a stand, with celebrities speaking out after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis.
Pretti was shot during an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on January 24.
The incident occurred just weeks after another Minneapolis resident, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, was also shot and killed by an ICE agent while in her vehicle.
Highlights
- Celebrities across Hollywood are speaking out, condemning the ICE killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, highlighting injustice and calling for change.
- Witness videos show Pretti holding a phone, contradicting DHS claims he was armed when fatally shot by ICE agents.
- Mark Ruffalo, Natalie Portman, and Florence Pugh denounced the killing as a cold-blooded murder and called for justice.
- Prominent figures urged abolishing ICE and stopping federal violence after deadly shootings in Minneapolis.
- Minnesota Governor Tim Walz challenged the public to choose between supporting federal agents or standing with victims like Pretti.
ICE agents shot and killed Alex Pretti
Widespread attention and protests that began after Good’s shooting have now intensified.
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents fired their weapons in self-defense, claiming Pretti was armed at the time of the encounter. However, witness accounts and multiple videos shared online appear to show Pretti holding a mobile phone rather than a gun.
Pretti’s family released a statement describing him as a good man and an adventurous individual who worked as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital. They said he had no criminal record and no prior encounters with law enforcement beyond traffic violations.
In the aftermath of the killing, many celebrities have come out and spoken up.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston, who is hardly political on her platform, shared a statement from Pretti's parents, initially shared by Senator Bernie Sanders. “We are heartbroken but also very angry,” Pretti's parents said in the shared post.
Image credits: Monica Schipper/Getty Images
“Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital.
“Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.”
Mark Ruffalo
Actor Mark Ruffalo criticized the killing in a social media comment, calling the incident a “cold blooded murder” on an “American street of a man protecting someone he loves.”
“Don't pretend this is okay. We have been invaded by a criminal army from within. Do not pretend this isn't dangerous or wrong,” Ruffalo wrote as a comment on an NPR post.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman also spoke out while at the Sundance Film Festival. “What’s going on in our country right now is absolutely horrific with the federal government, Trump's government, Kristi Noem...ICE. What they’re doing is really the worst of the worst of humanity,” she said.
Image credits: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Florence Pugh
Florence Pugh also shared several Instagram stories, saying, “He was a hero. A man that did heroic acts everyday. Not a terrorist. An ICU nurse,” and adding, “It's a murder. He was murdered. He was protecting a woman who was thrown on the floor.”
Other celebrities echoed similar sentiments. Lisa Rinna reposted a message that said, “ICE does not belong in our communities,” and, “Because they're coming for us next this is just the beginning.”
Walton Goggins
Walton Goggins said, “THIS IS WRONG. Alex Pretti was murdered. Renee Good was MURDERED. This isn’t about what political party any of us are affiliated with. This is about Humanity... THIS IS F*****G WRONG."
Image credits: Roger Kisby/Getty Images
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo also took to her Instagram stories to say, “ICEs actions are unconscionable but we are not powerless. our actions matter. I stand with Minnesota.”
Sophia Bush
Actress Sophia Bush also took to Instagram to post and repost several stories related to Pretti.
Image credits: Gilbert Flores/Getty Images
One repost said, “In the wake of Alex Pretti’s murder, Conservative Americans will believe Donald Trump, JD Vance, Kristi Noem, Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, Karoline Leavitt and not their own eyes.”
Bush said, along with the image, “It is not too late to admit you were wrong. That you were sold a false bill of goods. But neighbors, it is FAR too late to say you didn’t know.”
Writers and artists also weighed in.
Stephen King
Stephen King wrote a short but direct statement, saying, "Alex Pretti was murdered."
Amanda Gorman
Poet Amanda Gorman wrote a poem titled Murdered by I.C.E. "Fear not those without paper, but those without conscience," Gorman wrote in one line.
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde told Variety, “This country is hurting. I’m appalled and sickened. We can’t go another day accepting this as our new norm. It’s outrageous. People are being murdered, and I don’t want to normalize seeing that violence—on the internet or on film.
“It’s hideous. If we can do anything to support the movement to cast ICE out and delegitimize this criminal organization, then that’s what we should be doing,” she added.
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande reposted an X post from NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani, which said, “As tens of thousands across America protest the violence that ICE sows with impunity, federal agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis today. ICE terrorizes our cities. ICE puts us all in danger. Abolish ICE.”
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen also reposted several posts, including one by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on X. She wrote, “Americans are being killed in the street by their government. Our Constitution is being shredded and our rights are dissolving. Resist. Senate Dems should block ICE funding this week. Activate the National Guard. We can and must stop this.”
Image credits: Brianna Bryson/Getty Images
Jonathan Van Ness
Jonathan Van Ness shared a Threads post, saying, “They charged taxpayers $85 BILLION for ice to terrorize America. Tear gassing, beating, detaining innocent protestors / people, and they just killed another human being.”
Many other celebrities, including Mandy Moore, Becky G, Macklemore, and Jamie Lee Curtis, shared or reposted content related to the shooting.
Image credits: Jacek Boczarski/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump said to The Wall Street Journal about the killing, “I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it. But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully-loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”
A CNN video analysis showed a federal immigration officer removing a gun from Pretti right before he was fatally shot at least ten times. A bystander's video shows officers restraining Pretti, while an agent reached into the scuffle and retrieved a weapon that appears to match the firearm the DHS alleges Pretti possessed.
Just a second after the officer emerges with the gun, shots ring out. About a minute after the shooting, another officer can be heard asking, “Where’s the gun?” and the officer who retrieved it says, “I got the gun.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke at a news conference in Minneapolis on Sunday. “Which side do you want to be on? The side of an all-powerful federal government that could kill, injure, menace, and kidnap its citizens off the streets, or on the side of a nurse at the VA hospital who died bearing witness to such government,” he said.