Chris Pratt: Avengers cast defends actor after he is dubbed ‘the worst Hollywood Chris’

Fans unimpressed as Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana and Robert Downey Jr lead defence of actor after an online popularity contest

Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana and Robert Downey Jr have stepped in to defend their Avengers co-star Chris Pratt, after the internet voted him “the worst Hollywood Chris”.

The age-old social media debate as to who of the four most famous Chris’s – Pratt, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine – is the least likeable resurfaced thanks to a viral tweet posted this week.

While the majority of the people debating appeared to be doing so in good humour, Pratt’s perceived political beliefs were frequently raised as problematic.

Others resurfaced a story from last year where Pratt defended the church he attends from accusations of homophobia.

Among the accusers at the time was actor Ellen Page, who claimed his church was “famously anti-LGBTQ”.

While Page did not name the church in question, Pratt later responded, commenting: “It has recently been suggested that I belong to a church which 'hates a certain group of people' and is 'infamously anti-LGBTQ.' Nothing could be further from the truth.

”I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone.“

Following the online debate, Ruffalo, who stars as The Hulk in the Marvel franchise, chastised fans for their remarks about his Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame co-star.

“You all, @prattprattpratt is as solid a man there is,” he tweeted. “I know him personally, and instead of casting aspersions, look at how he lives his life. He is just not overtly political as a rule.”

The actor threw in a veiled reference to the forthcoming US presidential election, writing: “This is a distraction. Let's keep our eyes on the prize, friends. We are so close now.”

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Downey Jr, who played Iron Man in the blockbuster films, also chipped in.

“What a world... The 'sinless' are casting stones at my brother, Chris Pratt... A real Christian who lives by principle, has never demonstrated anything but positivity and gratitude,” he wrote on Instagram.

He added: “AND he just married in to a family that makes space for civil discourse and (just plain fact) INSISTS on service as the highest value.”

Downey Jr claimed that anyone taking “issue” with Pratt should delete their social media accounts.

“Sit with your OWN defects of character, work on THEM, then celebrate your humanness,” he said.

Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn then waded in, calling Pratt “the best dude in the world”.

“I've spent hours & hours sharing my deepest truths with this man, as he has with me. Please stop assuming what he believes, politically or in any other way, because he's a Christian,” he said.

Pratt's wife of one year, Katherine Schwarzenegger, wrote on Instagram: “Is this really what we need? There's so much going on in the world and people struggling in so many ways. Being mean is so yesterday.”

“There's enough room to love all these guys. Love is what we all need not meanness and bullying. Let's try that,” she said.

Zoe Saldana quoted a Tupac lyric in her Pratt defence, writing: “No matter how hard it gets, stick your chest out, keep your head up and handle it – Tupac. You got this @prattprattpratt. Your family, friends, colleagues & everyone who’s ever crossed paths with you knows your heart and your worth!”

Many then called out the actors either for a somewhat remarkable overreaction to an online popularity contest, or for their silence in other instances where their other co-stars were being attacked.

One tweet, which received more than 27,000 likes, said: “So when zendaya, chadwick, anthony mackie + brie larson etc. was getting dragged through the mud for their mcu roles it was crickets from the avengers assemble hive but when chris pratt is being called out for being a trump supporter here come the defense squad.. ion like that.”

“Where was this energy when Brie Larson was massively harassed for months just for advocating for diversity in the industry? And they all knew about it. Suddenly Chris Pratt gets some criticism and they all come to his defence? The bar is hell,” another wrote.

A similar tweet read: “Where was this energy when people attacked Tessa Thompson for being casted as valkyrie, where was this energy when Zendaya was attacked for being casted as MJ, where was this energy when Brie Larson was being attacked for speaking up on the lack of diversity in the industry.”

Pratt has yet to comment on the online furore.