The Academy Award-nominated actor James Woods, who is known for being one of the only openly conservative stars in Hollywood, got some bad news last week when a Superior Court judge ruled against him in a dispute with a neighbor.
Woods’ Court Defeat
The Providence Journal reported that Woods, 75, had gone to court to try to stop his neighbor from building a home on Boone Lake in Exeter, Rhode Island. Unfortunately for him, Judge Sarah Taft-Carter ruled that the Exeter Zoning Board was legally inbounds when it issued a decision allowing Harry Hawker III to build a two-bedroom home on an undeveloped lakeside property that is located next to Woods’ estate.
Judge Taft-Carter found that the record clearly supported the board’s finding because the home designed by Hawker has a footprint of “a mere 950 square feet” to be built in the center of the property, which minimizes the amount of dimensional relief required.
Woods had sued the Zoning Board for approving Hawker’s plans, arguing that Hawker didn’t provide proper notice of his project and that he failed to show that the proposed project would not change the character of the lakeside community. Judge Taft-Carter, however, was not having any of it.
“Here, the record is clear that appellant attended the May hearing and as such, appellant ‘waive[d] [his] right to object to any alleged deficiency of notice’ …,” Taft-Carter wrote in her decision, adding that Woods’ attorney had attended the meeting after notice was sent to the actor’s address in West Hollywood, California.
“Denying the Application would have been more than a mere inconvenience to Applicant because he would have been denied of his right to build a single-family home on his Property,” the judge said of Hawker.
Woods’ attorney declined to comment to reporters when asked if the star will seek a state Supreme Court review. Woods was born and raised in Rhode Island, and his family has owned property on Boone Lake for decades.
Related: James Woods Pays Touching Tribute To Bruce Willis After Learning Of His Career-Ending Diagnosis
Woods ‘Blacklisted’ By Hollywood
Woods has previously claimed that he was “blacklisted” by Hollywood for his conservative views. He said this in response to the Hollywood star Brendan Frasier claiming that his career was negatively impacted after he refused the alleged sexual advances of Philip Berk, a former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that is known for hosting the Golden Globe Awards.
“I, too, was blacklisted by that individual at #HFPA after nine Golden Globe nominations,” Woods tweeted in 2018. “During a press junket with HFPA, he asked if I would support Hillary Clinton if she ever ran for president. Never nominated again.”
Related: Dolly Parton Praises James Woods – ‘One Of The Greatest Actors Of All Time’
Woods Dropped By ‘Liberal’ Agent
Later that same year, Woods revealed that he was dropped by his agent for being conservative. The actor took to social media to share an email from his “liberal” agent Ken Kaplan that read, “It’s the 4th of July and I’m feeling patriotic. I don’t want to represent you anymore. I mean I could go on a rant but you know what I’d say.”
Woods responded by saying, “Dear Ken, I don’t actually. I was thinking if you’re feeling patriotic, you would appreciate free speech and one’s right to think as an individual. Be that as it may, I want to thank you for all your hard work and devotion on my behalf. Be well.”
As one of the few openly conservative stars in Hollywood, Woods’ voice is needed now more than ever. Hopefully Woods does not let his defeat in court deter him from continuing to speak out against the left in the future.