'They hate America': Dean Cain says today's 'cancel culture' wouldn't allow his 1990s Superman character to say 'truth, justice, and the American way'

Dean Cain, who played Superman on a 1990s TV show, blasted a Time Magazine opinion piece which compared superheroes to police officers and says today's 'cancel culture' would have censored his character's famous 'truth, justice, and the American way' catchphrase.

Cain, 53, criticized the ‘cancel culture’ that has intensified in the days and weeks following the police-involved killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

He said that attempts to portray cops as inherently violent are ‘totally untrue’ and that calls to re-examine pop culture’s treatment of superheroes like Batman, Spider-Man, and Punisher – who are accused of being ‘cops with capes’ - are ‘insane.’

Cain broke through as an actor after he landed the starring role on the 1990s television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. 

Cain broke through as an actor after he landed the starring role on the 1990s television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. 

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Dean Cain blasted 'cancel culture' and dismissed suggestions that Hollywood 'heroizes' the police after a Time Magazine writer compared comic book superheroes to law enforcement agencies, saying they were 'cops with capes'

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Dean Cain is seen left as Superman in the 1990s hit television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He is seen right as a reserve police officer in Pocatello, Idaho

The show, which lasted four seasons, gained a loyal following as millions of viewers tuned in to see Cain and his co-star, Teri Hatcher.

In recent years, Cain has appeared on Fox News as a pro-Trump commentator.

Last month, Cain was sworn in as a reserve police officer with the Pocatello Police Department, according to the Idaho State Journal. 

‘This is insane to me, though, because these people will scream anti-police rhetoric all day long but when their life is threatened and they need a hero, they will dial 911 and a police officer will show up,’ Cane told Fox News on Thursday.

‘Because police officers are heroes.’

In referencing instances of police brutality, Cain admitted there were ‘bad situations’ and ‘bad apples’, but insisted that ’99.9 per cent of all police officers’ were nonviolent and they ‘do a fantastic job.’

‘This whole “cancel culture” thing that we're living in right now is crazy,’ he said.

‘It's like an early version of George Orwell’s “1984”.’

Cain continued: ‘And, what this article does in Time Magazine, what they talk about, I mean…from the very beginning…the author of this article makes a bunch of claims that are totally untrue.’

The actor was asked about an article by Time writer Eliana Dockterman, who wondered in a recent piece: ‘What are superheroes except cops with capes who enact justice with their powers?’

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Cain criticized a Time Magazine writer who said comic book superheroes like Batman, Spider-Man, and the Justice League were 'cops with capes.' From left: Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher in a scene from the DC Comics film Justice League

Dockterman compared what she said was Hollywood’s lionizing of police through movies and television shows – ‘copaganda’ – to its similar treatment of superheroes, most of whom are ‘straight, white men who either function as an extension of a broken U.S. justice system or as vigilantes without any checks on their powers.’

She credits recent attempts to deal with racial injustice in films, like Marvel’s Black Panther, which tells the story of a black superhero who takes on oppression and inequality after initially adopting an isolationist stance in his country.

Cain took issue with Dockterman’s article, particularly her claim that ‘tolerance for law enforcement acting with impunity is eroding.’

‘Law enforcement acting with impunity has never been something we’ve tolerated and never will,’ Cain said.

He also rejects Dockterman’s assertion that ‘calls to defund the police have gone mainstream.’

Cain cited the case of Seattle’s ‘CHOP zone’ and ‘crime statistics in New York City’ to back up his claim.

The backlash against police-themed television shows has intensified, prompting networks to cancel series like Cops and Live PD.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a popular sitcom about a Brooklyn police precinct, rewrote the scripts for the first four episodes of its upcoming eighth season amid the George Floyd protests.

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Paramount Networks has permanently cancelled Cops, the police reality show that has been on the air for 33 seasons, the network said in a statement on Tuesday

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a sitcom about a New York Police Department precinct, ordered the rewriting of four episodes of its upcoming eighth season after the protests following the police-involved death of George Floyd. From left: Andy Samberg, Terry Crews, and Joe Lo Truglio

Mindful of the growing criticism of shows that some say paint too rosy of a picture of law enforcement, the cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine recently made a $100,000 group donation to the Nation Bail Fund in support of protesters and Black Lives Matter.

Cain, however, pushed back on the notion that Hollywood is pro-police. He said several TV shows and movies from recent decades have painted law enforcement in a negative light.

‘Then she says Hollywood heroizes cops and you can destroy that in just a list of titles: Training Day, Serpico, The Departed, The Wire, BlacKkKlansman, Rambo.

‘I mean, the list goes on and on because a bad cop is a great villain because they're not supposed to be bad.’

He added: ‘So, this stuff all just drives me insane. I promise you that Superman - I wouldn't today be allowed to say: “Truth, justice, and the American way”.’

'Truth, justice, and the American way' is a famous catchphrase uttered by Superman. 

Cain said that those looking to depict police in a negative light are unpatriotic.

‘What more do you need to show their agenda?’ he said.

‘It’s crazy. They hate capitalism, they hate law and order, and they hate America.’

When asked about the decision to cancel Cops and Live PD, Cain dismissed suggestions that these shows make people numb to police brutality.

‘It doesn't heroize them in any way, shape, or form,’ he said.

‘It shows you the kind of stuff they have to deal with on a daily basis.’