Posted in: Current News, Editor's Picks TV News, Fox, Movies, TV | Tagged: #TakeAKnee, cable, chris carter, Colin Kaepernick, conspiracy theories, Dana Scully, David Duchovny, donald trump, football, fox, Fox Mulder, gillian anderson, HRL, mulder, nfl, sci-fi, science fiction, scully, Season 12, streaming, television, The X-Files, tv, x-files

Gillian Anderson And David Duchovny #TakeAKnee On X-Files Set

It's important to remember two things about the current #TakeAKnee movement: it began several months ago with still unsigned ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick exercising his right to peacefully protest by taking a knee and refusing to stand for the national anthem. His aim? Bring attention to police brutality and racial injustice. Over time, more athletes from number of other sports would join the cause as the media continued to debate Kaepernick's actions and motivations.

Two key facts to keep in mind considering what's taken place over the past days, with President Donald Trump denouncing athletes who choose to protest in that manner as "sons of b*****s" deserving of being fired; reserving most of his venom for the NFL. In turn, the NFL's players, team owners and even Commissioner Roger Goodell took to social media to push back on the attacks; demonstrating league unity by locking arms and some also kneeling before this past weekend's games.

Through it all, the message of police brutality and racial injustice got a little lost: #TakeAKnee was being seen by some as an "anti-Trump" movement; while others wrongfully equated the gesture as somehow being a slap in the face to the military, labeling athletes with phrases such as "ungrateful" and "Un-American."

So it was only a matter of time before #TakeAKnee would find its way into the geek pop culture world, with the most recent example coming from the set of The X-Files's upcoming season. Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny took a break from Dana Scully and Fox Mulder's hunt for "The Truth" to tweet a pic of the duo taking a knee and linking arms while on the set of their show.

The pic was simply accompanied by the hashtags "#TheXFiles #TakeAKnee," representative of the actors' support for protesting NFL players against Trump's comments and tweets; and the need for a serious national conversation on race relations and racial inequality.

Interestingly enough and what might shed a little light on her level of commitment to this particular issue, Anderson told The Guardian in an interview earlier this year that discussing social issues in interviews is usually something she doesn't feel comfortable doing:

"I generally have a tendency to steer away from outright political discussion in interviews, because I am an actor, and there's so much that I don't understand, and I don't for a second feel like I have a right to that platform. I don't want to get into a discussion about Trump or about Brexit or any of that – I feel it's best left to people who really understand the very, very complex issues. Not for a second am I going to pitch in, because I don't really know what it is that I'm talking about. I have opinions, but I don't think my opinions are more valid because I'm an actor and have more of a platform than others."

The X-Files is set to return for Season 12 sometime in 2018.

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