Trejo’s team frames his participation as purely professional acting work, emphasizing his personal identity as a 'proud Mexican' and 'pro-immigrant' supporter who simply tells stories.
Insiders suggest the backlash wasn't just about politics, but about the chaotic production environment in Livingston, Montana, where locals were allegedly harassed by private security and exposed to dangerous stunts without notice.
Filming suspended last weekend due to protests; resumed Tuesday with a revised permit requiring food pantry access for locals. Ben Shapiro called critics 'censorious jackasses.' The film is not under an IATSE contract.
Trejo is trying to have his cake and eat it too by cashing the Daily Wire check while publicly rejecting the film’s pro-ICE stance.
Danny Trejo has officially entered the chat to clarify where he stands, and he is drawing a hard line in the sand. Following intense backlash over his role in Daily Wire’s controversial new production, Pawn Shop, the LA-born Mexican-American actor took to social media on Friday to address the swirling rumors. In a direct statement, Trejo insisted, "Make no mistake. I am a proud Mexican who has always been and will always be a supporter of my community. I am also obviously, pro-immigrant. I am not pro-ICE." He emphasized that his job is to "tell a story," attempting to decouple his personal politics from the production’s ideological branding. The drama didn't start with Trejo’s statement, but with the chaotic filming process in Livingston, Montana. Production was temporarily suspended last weekend after locals protested what they described as the alleged use of blank gunshots, pyrotechnics, and a staged car wreck without proper notification to residents and businesses. The tension escalated to the point where the crew had to secure a revised film permit by Tuesday. This new agreement mandates that the production ensure food pantry access for locals to the Livingston Food Resource Center and shield the public from both violent scene shootings and excessive noise. Crucially, the production also agreed to address complaints regarding their use of private security, promising no further policing or harassment of locals on nearby public streets. While Trejo attempts to distance himself from the political optics, Ben Shapiro, the co-founder of Daily Wire, doubled down on the conflict. Shapiro decried the production suspension as "a violation of the First Amendment," launching a verbal attack on the film’s critics by calling them "censorious jackasses" who oppose free speech. The film’s synopsis, which involves a federal agent trapped in a pawn shop with a "traditional Hispanic father," has been criticized for dramatizing ICE’s fatal shooting of Renée Good in Minnesota earlier this year, adding a layer of real-world tragedy to the fictional narrative that many locals found insensitive. This isn't the first time Bonfire Legend, Dallas Sonnier’s production company, has faced labor and local scrutiny. Deadline confirmed that Pawn Shop is not under an IATSE contract, operating instead under a "conditional start" with SAG-AFTRA. This follows the production of Run Hide Fight: Infidels, which was picketed by IATSE due to labor issues in South Carolina. That production also saw Jonathan Majors involved in an on-set accident that resulted in his co-star JC Kilcoyne needing stitches "all over his hands" after falling through a window. With Carter Boehm, the producer of Rust, also on the team, the pattern of on-set chaos and labor friction seems to be a recurring theme for this duo.
