John C. Reilly is sounding like someone who came from a house of learned doctors. Last week, the “Step Brothers” star appeared on the “It’s Open with Ilana Glazer” podcast and made such a fierce argument about the need for more empathy that his remarks began to bubble up on sites like Reddit this week, with users praising the veteran character actor for his take. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Reilly took a swipe at Elon Musk to boot.
Reilly on Empathy vs. Musk's Theory
The actor was speaking with host Glazer about standing up for the human rights of the LGBTQ+ community when he clearly needed to get something off his chest. “If you stand up for human rights — why is that a right or a left thing?” Reilly wondered. “Why aren’t people on the right wing concerned about human rights? They’re human, too.” He went on to criticize how the idea of an “empathy trap” has come “into vogue” on social media.
When Glazer expressed confusion about the term, Reilly explained that it was one of the theories that Musk, the world’s first trillionaire, has been peddling. During an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan in March 2025, Musk griped about what he called “civilizational suicidal empathy.” Although he said it was important to be empathetic to an extent, he expressed the belief that empathy is now being “weaponized” and destroying society. “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy, the empathy exploit,” Musk said at the time.
Reilly's Rebuttal: Empathy as a Superpower
Reilly summed up his interpretation of Musk’s remark to Glazer. “That’s what Elon Musk says, like … ‘Don’t be fooled by the empathy trap. Stick to your agenda and what’s best for you. Don’t start feeling bad for so-and-so, they’re on their own thing — look out for number one.’” Reilly flatly rejected this attitude. “Empathy is not a trap. Empathy is a superpower,” he said. “It’s what makes human beings exceptional.” He continued, “Our ability to look outside of ourself. We’re not an alligator trying to just get the next fish, you know? We’re human beings. We can relate to something that’s not us … that’s a superpower.” The actor added that being empathetic is a “cornerstone of civilization.”
Everyday Empathy and a 'Upside-Down World'
“The fact that we stay at the red light and don’t just zoom out because we want to get through the light faster — because what will happen? Well, we might smash into someone. Well, you don’t know that person. Yeah, but I still don’t want to smash into them, you know?”
“It’s crazy that we have to argue for these things right now,” he concluded. “That’s a really upside-down world feeling to me.”
