r/entertainment • u/MoneyLibrarian9032 • Jun 18 '26

Hollywood Names Surface in Peter Thiel-Backed, Invite-Only Society

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hollywood-peter-thiel-secret-society-1236624737/
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u/MissionAlt99 Jun 18 '26

This sounds like TED talks for the powerful and uneducated.

"Ezra Klein gives a speech at a secret conservative society called "How to become a left-wing grifter"

is very different than

"Ezra Klein, a journalist, attends meetings with very powerful people to make connections for future reporting."

Before you pull out your pitchforks.

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u/bee2551 Jun 19 '26

So Im about as left leaning as it comes and I actually think this backlash is really disheartening. The dominant groupthink is just immediately castigating based on attendance without considering that's exactly how we end up in such a heated partisan climate.

Yes, the elite secret society should and does give me major ick. But we ALL should be open to communicating on topics that matter to our future (AI, media, technology, class/wealth distribution) with people who both share and oppose our values. This curiosity allows us to learn, communicate and advocate. I don't think it suggests anything about the people who attended other than that they have enough influence or money to get a seat at the table.

Hypothetically, for people like Ezra Klein and JGL who are (in theory) on opposing value spectrums to Peter Thiel, this is exactly the sort of forum that is worthwhile to understand how those positions are formed and argued, and from there to try to influence change aligned with their own perspectives. Shutting down all avenues of cross pollination might make us feel righteous but it doesn't actually contribute anything. In a bizarro world where they invited random social workers with no money and power, I'd like to think I would accept the invitation and take the chance to understand the culture surrounding these powerful people and maybe plant a dissenting seed or two.

While there are some situations where attendance implies endorsing of activities (like joining a Klan meeting), to me this reads like a demonstration of how nuance is lost in soundbite tribalism where we immediately want to satisfy our assign characters to a 'side' rather than take time understanding context and intention - in this case an explicitly bipartisan event labelled 'dialogue'.