Summary

CM Punk says he still feels a responsibility to speak on major social and political issues, even if he usually avoids bringing those views onto WWE television.

During an appearance on *All The Smoke*, Punk said he understands why some fans want wrestling to remain an escape from real-world issues. At the same time, he said there are subjects he sees as too important to ignore, especially when he believes basic human rights are involved.

Punk framed the issue less as party politics and more as a matter of right and wrong. He said he prefers using his own Instagram account to talk about those beliefs, while recognizing why a television product may not want talent publicly dividing viewers along political lines.

Quote from CM Punk

"It's always the right time to do the right thing. My perspective on it now, is that I understand if you're watching a wrestling show, you just want to see people clubbering each other and Shakespeare drama, that maybe you don't want to get hit over the head with real world things of who is a Republican and who is a Democrat and these political things, but for me, especially today, the world is such an ugly place. I understand there being an escape, but when am I supposed to talk about this stuff? I do feel very strongly about things. I tend to lean more towards, I'm not being political, this is human rights. You either learn or you don't that there is a right and there is a wrong. Where we are as a country now, I feel like we're going backwards. We are and we're talking about taking rights away from marginalized groups. I feel that we as people have never been represented by our government in a proper way. I think Obama was President for eight years, and the pendulum swung so far in the other direction after a while, and now we're dealing with the repercussions of that."

Punk later went on to say:

"I talk about things that I believe strongly in on my Instagram, that's my Instagram. I can do that. I tend to lean away from doing it on television because I understand 'if you choose a side on this, you're turning off X amount of viewers on this side.' I get that, but I think sometimes the subjects and things going on are too important to ignore. I have a big mouth and I speak from the heart. Sometimes I get it wrong, but most of the time I think I get it right. I believe in people, not governments."

CM Punk's WWE platform and public voice

CM Punk's comments reinforce that his WWE run has not changed how he sees his personal platform, even if he draws a line between social media and television. That matters because he is one of the most recognizable voices in wrestling, and he made it clear he still intends to speak openly when he feels the subject is bigger than the show.

The remarks also line up with Punk's earlier stance that WWE talent are not usually encouraged to be outwardly political. In practice, that leaves his public commentary mostly on his own channels rather than as part of WWE programming.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.