Blue Bloods star Tom Selleck steps down from NRA Board of Directors

There are some headlines coming out this morning about Tom Selleck, but surprisingly, they have to do with something outside of his acting career.

This week, it was confirmed via The Trace that the Blue Bloods star has stepped down abruptly from his position on the NRA’s Board of Directors. His publicist Annette Wolf confirmed the news with the following statement as to why he chose to step down at this time:

“He has nothing to do with policy. He’s never been active on the board or anything the NRA engages in. He’s almost always been a silent board member … Tom Selleck has stepped down from the board of the NRA due to his work schedule. Mr. Selleck remains a member of the NRA.”

Selleck’s rep declined to comment as to whether or not he still supports NRA policies.

So why does all of this matter in the big picture? It’s largely about what the move represents. If this was simply about Selleck wanting more time away from the board, why choose to do so in such a sudden way? It feels like a quiet, subtle step away from the organization given that he still does remain a member, but not holding any other position. While Selleck has given speeches over the years, he has not necessarily been too keen to discuss particular political candidates — in a 2017 speech, he referenced the “toxic political environment” we currently find ourselves in.

Given that we are a TV site, we do want to bring this back to Blue Bloods itself — does this action have any impact on the show itself? We don’t really think so. Blue Bloods has an audience that is both liberal and conservative, which is probably in part why Selleck chooses to refrain from too many political discussions. The show also does have a mixture of actors with differing point of views; cooperation among the Reagan family despite their differences is one of the key themes of the series, and we think that this is also reflected in everything behind the scenes as well. We think the only way Blue Bloods would be impacted by anything related to its cast is if either the stories on the show or the actions by any individual cast member became extreme. We don’t see that happening.

What do you think about the latest Tom Selleck news, and do you think it matters at all in terms of the show? Share below.

(Photo: CBS.)