The horrific and senseless deaths of beloved Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry and across the nation.
The couple’s son, Nick Reiner, faces two counts of first-degree murder, among other charges.
Reiner’s movies, including “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “This is Spinal Tap,” “When Harry Met Sally,” and “A Few Good Men,” are personal favorites of millions of Americans. To his last, Reiner remained a fierce, innovative force, and the Reiner couple embodied one of Hollywood’s most wonderful real-life love stories.
Tributes to the deceased flowed in across social media, honoring his tremendous impact on and contributions to the entertainment industry. Most people delivered messages of condolence and recalled fond memories of the Reiners, regardless of their political leanings.
Regrettably, the commander-in-chief, as is frequently the case, could not resist engaging in bitter and distasteful rhetoric and making the tragedy about himself.
Barely 24 hours after the Reiners’ bodies were found, Donald Trump implied that the director’s death was connected to his prior criticism of the president. Trump posted the following on social media: “He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
Trump’s callous, tasteless comments drew bipartisan backlash from some prominent figures on the right, including former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, former senior advisor to Trump’s campaign David Urban, and Representatives Mike Lawler of New York, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. To their credit, these Republicans wasted no time condemning Trump’s abrasive and acrimonious language.
Amid the outrage, Reiner’s relationship with the Black community received little coverage. Taking to X, former President Barack Obama himself expressed commiseration with the Reiner family: “Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen. But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people — and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action.”
Given their liberal political affinities and affluent social circles, it is hardly surprising the Reiners and the Obamas were close friends. However, the reason that many Black Americans felt an affinity for Reiner was his racial conscientiousness.
The son of Hollywood legends Estelle and Carl Reiner, Reiner first became famous playing Michael (Or Mike) Stivic, Archie Bunker’s liberal son-in-law, in the iconic sitcom All in the Family. The show was groundbreaking in its willingness to address socially explosive issues of the era, including race, by pitting Michael, a progressive “free-thinking hippie” against his father-in-law Archie Bunker, a blatantly defiant bigot. Rather than cede ground to Archie’s prejudices, Mike openly challenged him and called him out. Mike and his wife Gloria (Sally Struthers) had numerous friends of various races, religions, and sexual orientations, an unusual phenomenon on early 1970s television.
One of Reiner’s more notable creations was “Ghosts of Mississippi.” Released in 1996 and starring Whoopi Goldberg (as Myrlie Evers), Alec Baldwin, and James Woods, the film is based on the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, a white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers.
Though one could argue that Goldberg and Woods were miscast, the film was powerful in its acknowledgement of the brutal and searing ethnic violence and vehement injustice saturating the South and much of the United States during the racially perilous years of the mid-20th century. Few other Hollywood directors were addressing such topics at the time. Additionally, Reiner’s friendships with Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey, and former Vice President Kamala Harris are well known.
Reiner’s political activism and unyielding advocacy for progressive causes endeared him to a sizable segment of the Black community. He fought steadfastly against racism; supported early childhood development; and acted as a fierce advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and marriage equality, environmental rights, and equal rights under the law. Black America and the larger world will never forget the legacy of one of the entertainment industry’s most prominent voices. May he and Michele rest in peace.
Copyright 2025 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.
