The 1987 fantasy classic “The Princess Bride” might be the favorite film of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), but the feeling is definitely not mutual for the movie’s leading actor Cary Elwes.
Elwes clashed with Cruz on Wednesday after podcast comments that the senator made regarding “rabid environmentalists” in modern movies like “Avengers: Endgame” went viral.
According to Cruz ― who was apparently attempting to criticize liberals for injecting such characters into their cinema ― figures such as Thanos, the antagonist of “Endgame,” “buy into the Malthusian line that there are too many people in the world, that people are bad, and everything would be better if we had fewer people.”
Numerous commentators on Twitter picked apart Cruz’s argument, pointing out that the senator seemed confused and had forgotten the fact that Thanos was a villain.
Elwes was one of the voices who retweeted Cruz’s argument with an added jab, asking the senator how it felt to know that the cast of “The Princess Bride” had nothing but “rabid contempt” for him. He even called the senator a “miserable ROUS” ― referencing the Rodents of Unusual Size, which attack “The Princess Bride” hero Westley and heroine Buttercup as they traverse a dangerous bog called the Fire Swamp.
Cruz responded by asking Elwes if he wanted what appeared to be a autographed glamour photo from “The Princess Bride” returned to him.
And just like the dedicated duelist that he portrayed on screen, Elwes swiped back, calling Cruz a “forgery” and hinting that the senator had someone else write his name on the image.
It is unclear whether the writing on the frame is forged, though eagle-eyed Twitter commentators watching the spat observed that “Cruz” appeared to be written in a manner inconsistent with the rest of the signature.
This is not the first time that Cruz and Elwes have battled each other on social media. In September of 2020, the senator lamented over one of Elwes’ tweets advertising a virtual reunion of “The Princess Bride” cast members to raise funds for the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
“If you only left the fire swamp you could join us,” Elwes lashed back at the time.