Actor Michael Imperioli says he has banned "bigots and homophobes" from watching The Sopranos and other shows and movies he has starred in following the Supreme Court's decision that a Christian graphic artist can refuse to work with same-sex couples.
Imperioli, 57, shared a screenshot of a news story about the ruling on Instagram, with the headline "Supreme Court protects web designer who won't do gay wedding websites."
The actor, known for his role portraying Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO drama, slammed the court's decision in his caption, writing that he had "decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching The Sopranos, The White Lotus, Goodfellas or any movie or TV show I've been in."
He added: "Thank you Supreme Court for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don't agree with and am opposed to. USA ! USA!"
Responding to comments on his post, Imperioli wrote that "hate and ignorance is not a legitimate point of view" and "America is becoming dumber by the minute."
Imperioili could not immediately be reached for further comment.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith in 303 Creative LLC vs. Elenis on Friday, saying she can refuse to design websites for same-sex weddings, despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics.
The court's conservative majority said forcing her to create the websites would violate her free speech rights under the Constitution's First Amendment.
The First Amendment "envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court's six conservative justices.
But dissenting liberal justices warned that the decision's effect is to "mark gays and lesbians for second-class status" and opens the door to other discrimination.
"The Supreme Court of the United States declares that a particular kind of business, though open to the public, has a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent. "The court does so for the first time in its history."
Last year, the court ruled along ideological lines for a football coach who prayed on the field at his public high school after games.
