Billy Bob Thornton Blasts Award Shows for ‘Snubbing’ Taylor Sheridan: ‘People Got the Wrong Idea’

Billy Bob Thornton is accusing Hollywood award shows of freezing out screenwriter Taylor Sheridan for political reasons.

In a fiery new interview with Variety released on Sunday, January 18, the Landman star, 70, said he believes Sheridan, 55, is being deliberately overlooked.

“I think a lot of it’s political,” Thornton admitted. “Some people assume Taylor is some sort of right-wing guy or something and he’s really not.”

Despite dominating TV ratings and launching some of Paramount’s biggest hits — Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, Lioness and Landman —  Sheridan’s projects have been almost completely ignored by award voters.

Yellowstone earned only one Emmy nomination in its five seasons — for production design.

Thornton, who plays oil titan Tommy Norris on Landman, insists critics misunderstand Sheridan’s storytelling.

“He’s not saying, ‘Rah, rah for oil,’” said Thorton, explaining that, “people got the wrong idea,” about the show. Instead, the plot focuses on the “people who work in this business or who are affected by this business, the people on the periphery and within the families in the business.”

The Oscar winner also slammed the idea that awards determine artistic value. “acting is not a sport,” Thornton said. “If you put your heart and soul into something you love, there’s the award.”

Still, it doesn’t seem that he’ll pipe down about any perceived injustices toward the show anytime soon, adding that he’s “too damn old to not tell the truth.”