Patricia Heaton Has Long Been Politically Outspoken on Issues She Cares About

Hollywood is often described as a left-wing place, but there are definitely a few actors and celebrities whose views fall on the more conservative side of the spectrum. Patricia Heaton, a sitcom star famous for her roles in Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, has recently re-entered the political arena after launching a new organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism.

Patricia's new organization, which is called the October 7 Coalition (O7C for short), was promoted on Fox News and seems to be fairly explicitly aligned with Israel. Following the news that she had launched the organization, many wanted to know more about Patricia's broader political beliefs.

Although she doesn't always endorse political candidates, the issues that she cares most about definitely align her with the Republican party. She has been avidly anti-abortion for decades and has also been opposed to stem cell research.

Since the Oct. 7 attack, Patricia has also been a vocal supporter of Israel in their war in Gaza, and even compared the conflict to the Holocaust.

She has expressed outspoken dislike for Donald Trump and said that she was "giving up" on politics following the 2016 election. She condemned the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and announced then that she was leaving the Republican Party and would be registering as an independent.

In spite of that declaration, though, Patricia still spends plenty of time on issues that are at least adjacent to politics.

In fact, most of her time since the Israel/Palestine conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, appears to have been spent advocating on behalf of Israel, and specifically on urging Christians to support Israel and the Jewish people more generally.

“Most of the response has been really good. Of course, there are people who hate us. … This is not a walk in the park. Fighting against antisemitism is serious business. It’s the most important thing," Patricia said while discussing her advocacy on NewsNation.

Although she seems to be more outspoken now than she was when she was working regularly on network television (go figure), Patricia has occasionally had to retract or apologize for specific statements or arguments that she made online.

In 2012, she got into a battle with Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, who was advocating the contraception be a mandatory part of all health insurance plans.

"I don't care if anyone uses birth control – just don't charge me for it," she wrote on Twitter, creating a thread that mocked Sandra's activism on the issue. She later took down most of the thread and apologized for her remarks.

She also apologized for appearing in an ad opposing a Missouri constitutional amendment on the issue of embryonic stem cell research.

Regardless of what she might consider to be past mistakes, though, it's clear that Patricia is still willing to advocate on behalf of the causes she agrees with, even when she knows it might cause controversy.