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---
title: Celebrities Praise John McCain After Health Care Bill Vote
description: A digital fan club for John McCain popped up on the Twittersphere on Thursday night.
canonical: https://time.com/4878007/john-mccain-health-care-bill-celebrity-reactions/
author: Entertainment Weekly
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2017-07-28T14:03:23.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:25:58.793Z
og:title: Celebrities Thank John McCain for Voting 'No' on Health Care Bill
og:description: Celebs also showed support for Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins
og:url: https://time.com/4878007/john-mccain-health-care-bill-celebrity-reactions/
og:site_name: TIME
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og:image:width: 2946
og:image:height: 1657
og:image:alt: Senate GOP Health Care Bill Fails To Pass
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Celebrities Thank John McCain for Voting 'No' on Health Care Bill
twitter:description: Celebs also showed support for Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbdad8fa425fa466/6988d7878fd2eea8653582fe/john-mccain-health-bill-celebrity-reactions.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdbdad8fa425fa466/6988d7878fd2eea8653582fe/john-mccain-health-bill-celebrity-reactions.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# 'An Act of Heroism': Celebrities Thank John McCain After Voting Against Health Care Bill

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EQbEkt03.m3u8" -->
## Video: John McCain Casts Decisive Vote Against Senate Obamacare Repeal

[Watch (HLS stream): John McCain Casts Decisive Vote Against Senate Obamacare Repeal](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EQbEkt03.m3u8) (0:20)

![John McCain Casts Decisive Vote Against Senate Obamacare Repeal](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EQbEkt03/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2017-07-28. The so-called "skinny repeal" of Obamacare went down in flames early Friday after three Republicans—Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine—joined with all 48 Democrats in voting against the measure_


by 

[Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/)


## Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly


Jul 28, 2017 2:03 PM UTC

The so-called "skinny repeal" of Obamacare went down in flames early Friday after three Republicans—Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine—joined with all 48 Democrats in voting against the measure 

by 

[Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/)


## Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly


Jul 28, 2017 2:03 PM UTC

A digital fan club for John McCain popped up on the Twittersphere on Thursday night. Though the Republican Senator from Arizona initially voted towards beginning the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act, he returned to the Senate shortly after revealing his [brain cancer diagnosis](http://people.com/politics/john-mccain-cancer/) and became [one of three Republicans who helped strike down the so-called “skinny repeal” bill](http://time.com/4877796/health-care-senate-john-mccain-susan-collins-lisa-murkowski/?xid=homepage). Many celebrities took notice.

Cher, Billy Crystal, Jason Alexander, and Kal Penn offered their thanks over Twitter to McCain. “Great respect for @JohnMcCain who put country over party,” Crystal tweeted.

Others, like Jeffrey Wright, were reminded of [something Donald Trump said of McCain](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/hes-not-war-hero-donald-trump-mocks-john-mccains-service-n394391) at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa in 2015: “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

“SO MUCH 4 trumps Dis of Hero John McCain…Senator McCain Risked His Life in Vietnam Trump Hid In NY,” Cher wrote.

> [](https://twitter.com/cher/status/890815406708998144)

> [](https://twitter.com/cher/status/890818373470244869)


> [](https://twitter.com/BillyCrystal/status/890812915732725762)

> [](https://twitter.com/IJasonAlexander/status/890814089861021701)

> [](https://twitter.com/jfreewright/status/890825538104950784)


> [](https://twitter.com/kalpenn/status/890809613670424576)

> [](https://twitter.com/BeauWillimon/status/890809601867653123)

> [](https://twitter.com/ArianeBellamar/status/890815832418209793)


Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, the other Republicans who joined the Democrats in voting against the repeal bill, were not forgotten. _House of Cards_ creator Beau Willimon and retired basketball star Swin Cash noted how they “stood their ground in the line of fire” on multiple occasions. “They should not be overlooked,” Cash tweeted.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For not being careless and ‘loyal.’ For being prudent. And for fighting,” Kristen Bell wrote, though John Legend tweeted the “bill should have lost 95-5.” He added, “I have a hard time calling the 3 republicans who voted ‘no’ heroes. It was obviously stupid and awful.”

> [](https://twitter.com/SwinCash/status/890814822668935169)


> [](https://twitter.com/BeauWillimon/status/890815605170765824)

> [](https://twitter.com/Rosie/status/890811392156028928)

> [](https://twitter.com/IMKristenBell/status/890809689536987136)


> [](https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/status/890823503540355073)

> [](https://twitter.com/ikebarinholtz/status/890810394515652608)

> [](https://twitter.com/johnlegend/status/890815319169564672)


> [](https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/890813278170918912)

> [](https://twitter.com/questlove/status/890813755503726592)

In the early hours of Friday morning, Will Arnett joked, “I’ll be asleep when Trump lashes out in a few hours… I’m gonna DVR his tweets.” And Trump did lash out on social media.

> [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890820505330212864)


Rosie O’Donnell, who’s been in [a long and often times crass feud with Trump](http://ew.com/news/2017/05/11/donald-trump-rosie-odonnell-james-comey-tweet/), wrote, “Just blocked donald in celebration of the skinny bill death – feels good so good.” Legend also referred to POTUS as “America’s drunk uncle” and actor Kaj-Erik Eriksen called Trump “the most cowardly, pathetic failure of a man the United States has ever seen.”

> [](https://twitter.com/Rosie/status/890821755475865604)

> [](https://twitter.com/johnlegend/status/890821449199476737)


> [](https://twitter.com/johnlegend/status/890810588758016001)

> [](https://twitter.com/MMFlint/status/890843412911489026)

> [](https://twitter.com/KajEriksen/status/890820663937712128)


> [](https://twitter.com/joshgroban/status/890823317074178049)

> [](https://twitter.com/LA%5FSwiftness/status/890810414556000256)

> [](https://twitter.com/arnettwill/status/890810929914433536)


> [](https://twitter.com/lenadunham/status/890814897763753984)

> [](https://twitter.com/Lawrence/status/890824968296058880)

_This_ [_article_](http://ew.com/news/2017/07/28/health-care-repeal-fail-john-mccain/) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com)


## Transcript

[00:00] No.
[00:02] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]
[00:04] No.
[00:06] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]
[00:08] Mr. Cortman. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Mr.
[00:18] Cortman

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