Is 'Reacher' Star Alan Ritchson a Liberal? Many Fans of the Series Find Him Controversial

The Gist:

• Actor Alan Ritchson has always been vocal about his Christian faith.
• Born in North Dakota and a current resident of Florida, many of Alan's fans assumed he was conservative.
• On Instagram, Alan has made disparaging remarks about the Christian nationalist Republican movement.

Actor Alan Ritchson is known for his modeling career as well as his role as Aquaman on Smallville and Thad Castle on Blue Mountain State. Born in North Dakota, Alan currently stars in the Amazon Prime series Reacher as the Jack Reacher. The series has been celebrated by fans for not being woke and created with the sole purpose of entertaining.

However, that has raised some doubts about Alan’s politics. Does he agree with what the show is or perhaps isn’t promoting? Below, we divulge his political beliefs.

Alan is believed to be affiliated with the Democratic party, per VoterRecords.com. However, he is also a devout Christian. Using the hashtag #instachurch, Alan often preaches about religion and shares excerpts from the Bible on Instagram. While religion and politics aren't linked per se, many of his followers don't agree with his liberal viewpoints and often find him controversial.

Back in November 2022, Alan took to Instagram to explain he was leaving X (the platform previously known as Twitter), which at the time, had just been taken over by Elon Musk. He called the microblogging platform “dangerous," and commented on the surge of hate speech.

Many users were upset with Alan's decision to exit the social media app, not because it meant they'd be seeing less of him, but because of the alleged viewpoint he had. "He's going woke," commented one fan. Another wrote: "You sold your soul to Hollywood big time. Blue Mountain State ended [and] couldn’t pay the bills anymore so you sold out?"

Not to mention that in May 2022 he shared a video in which he denounced the white Christian nationalist republican movement, which fans also had a lot to say about. "I don't believe you're a liberal. I think your agent told you to do this," wrote one user.

Another said: "How are you going to profess Christ then buy into leftist lies? This is twisted."

Alan was born in Grand Forks, N.D. in 1982. His mother, Vickie Ritchson (née Harrell), was a high school teacher, and his father, David Ritchson, was a U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant. Growing up in a largely conservative state like North Dakota likely shaped some of Alan's early perspectives.

Little is known about Alan's parents. However, his own family life now takes center stage. He married his wife, Catherine Ritchson, in 2006, and together they have three children. He currently resides with his family in Florida.