James Woods Refuses to Speak Ill of Rob Reiner Despite Their Political Differences: ‘Somebody I Love, Respect and Cherish’ | Video

James Woods made it clear he will not speak poorly about late friend Rob Reiner, despite having wildly different political beliefs.

The actor, who worked with Reiner on the 1996 biopic, “Ghosts of Mississippi,” paid tribute to the slain director on Fox News Monday evening. While Woods is a staunch conservative, he noted that politics never impacted his friendship with Reiner, noting they had nothing but “respect” for one another’s beliefs.

“I judge people by how they treat me,” Woods explained to host Jesse Watters. “Rob Reiner was a godsend in my life. We got along great. We loved each other.”

As Woods went on, he noted that he and Reiner — a vocal critic of President Donald Trump — had opposing political stances, but shared he still saw the director as “a great patriot.”

“He doesn’t agree with me either, but he also respects my patriotism,” he added. “We had a different path to the same destination, which was a country we both love. And when people would say terrible things to me on social media about him, I’d say, ‘You got it all wrong.'”

Per Woods, you can disagree with someone without hating them – noting he often interacts with his liberal peers without issue. He added later on, “When people say horrible things about Rob right now, I find it, quite frankly, infuriating and distasteful.”

Woods further praised Reiner as “a great thinker,” adding that the deceased filmmaker is “somebody I love, respect and cherish.”

Woods’ defense of Reiner comes hours after Trump claimed the director and his wife, Michele, were killed due to the filmmaker’s opposition to him, saying Reiner had an “incurable” case of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

“Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” Trump wrote on Monday. “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!”

The president’s post sparked quite a bit of blowback, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom even blasting the president as a “sick man” over the remark.

Reiner and his wife were found slain in their Brentwood home Sunday evening. Their son, Nick, 32, who has a history of addiction issues, was the main suspect and arrested not long after their bodies were discovered. He is currently being held without bail.

Watch Woods’ full tribute to Reiner above.

The post James Woods Refuses to Speak Ill of Rob Reiner Despite Their Political Differences: ‘Somebody I Love, Respect and Cherish’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.