Billy Bob Thornton can't understand why the political views of celebrities are taken so seriously.

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton

The 63-year-old actor is baffled as to why the public turn towards celebrities for political inspiration rather than paying more attention to the experts.

He explained: "I think sometimes it's a little bit overblown with celebrities really having stuff to say about politics

"We really don't know what's going on behind the scenes with these politicians.

"I've had favourite senators and presidents over the years but the fact of the matter is I'm not sure why people are so interested in what an entertainer has to say about politics."

In recent years, the likes of Katy Perry and Chrissy Teigen have been outspoken on various issues, while Kim Kardashian West and her husband, rap star Kanye West, have both been afforded one-on-one meetings with US President Donald Trump.

By contrast, Billy doesn't have any ambitions to influence politics in the US.

The 'Bad Santa' star told the Daily Telegraph newspaper in Australia: "To be very frank, I'm not a very educated guy, I'm severely dyslexic, I have OCD - I'm not the guy you want running anything."

Earlier this month, Kim revealed she sees her political activism as her "longer-term mission" in life.

The 37-year-old beauty has successfully campaigned for Alice Marie Johnson to be pardoned after spending 21 years in prison for a non-violent drug offence, and Kim revealed she's committed to working on other similar cases.

She shared: "It's a longer-term mission for me. I never started out thinking I was being political. I just thought I was helping people and I knew that I had the opportunity or the resources, so I used them and, you know, it worked out really well for Alice.

"I definitely saw a lot of compassion from the White House with her and I really do believe it's just the beginning."