Danny Glover's Phone Problem

Danny Glover's got a bad connection.

At least, that's according to a conservative activist group.

The Washington, D.C., based Judicial Watch is calling on MCI to cut business ties with the Lethal Weapon star, who's a pitchman for the company, because of his vocal criticism of U.S. foreign policy.

"MCI must fire Glover," Judicial Watch's president Tom Fitton said in a statement last week. "Any more than it should have a spokesman supporting Osama bin Laden, it can't have a spokesman supporting Castro."

What got the right-wingers in a huff was Glover's signature on a two-paragraph pro-Castro advertisement that ran May 1 in the Cuban government-run newspaper Granma, which conservatives viewed as un-American because it implies support for Castro's own repressive policies against dissidents.

In the open letter, addressed to "The Conscience of the World," Glover joined 160 artists and intellectuals in criticizing the Iraq war as illegal and unjustified and warned of a "strong campaign of destabilization" against Cuba that could be utilized as a "pretext for an invasion."

In an interview with the Associated Press, Glover brushed off the boycott threat and defended his free speech rights.

"It's basically this rabid nationalism that has its own kind of potential of being maniacal, in some sense. As we march down and wave the flags, we must be sure of what we're waving them for," Glover told the wire service.

He added: "The whole idea is to crush any kind of dissent. Something is happening now that is very dark and very sinister in this country, and for us to not admit it is happening is, in some ways, for us to be blind."

So far, though, the brouhaha hasn't hurt Glover's standing with MCI.

While some irate customers have taken to conservative Websites to voice their outrage over his views, the company (formerly bankrupt telecommunications giant Worldcom) has refused to comment directly on the controversy.

Instead, MCI issued an opaque statement indicating that the actor's "Neighborhood" spots promoting its local and long-distance service have improved the bottom line since they began airing earlier this year.

"We chose Danny Glover because of his high consumer appeal and ratings. In fact, these ads have produced some of the highest likability scores for any of our spokespeople ever."

Until MCI decides it's time for a new marketing approach for its upcoming products, the ad campaign featuring Glover is expected to continue, according to Glover's rep.

"The relationship between Mr. Glover and MCI is a solid and successful one. He is under contract until the end of the year," said his publicist, Michelle Bega.

Glover isn't the only celebrity to come under attack for refusing to tow the "official" line by voicing opposition to the War on Iraq.

Most famously, the Dixie Chicks caught flak from conservatives after singer Natalie Maines made some ill-timed comments at the start of the Iraq war saying she and her bandmates were ashamed President Bush was from their home state of Texas.

Maines later issued an apology, calling her choice of words "disrespectful," however, many country music stations boycotted the Chicks' music and the band has received death threats. Still, no problems have arisen during the group's sold-out Home Tour.

Also taking heat were lefty Hollywood activist couple Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, whose outspoken antiwar stance prompted the president of the Baseball Hall of Fame to cancel last month's 15th anniversary celebration of Bull Durham.

The celebration and movie screening was subsequently moved to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, with Sarandon and Robbins in attendance.

Such attacks were foreseen by the Screen Actors Guild, which issued a prescient statement before the war asking people in and out of the Industry not to blacklist outspoken actors because of their politics. The union said it feared a return to the witch-hunting days of the McCarthy era.