All About Christian Bale And Dick Cheney’s Alleged Feud Over Vice (Photo Credit – Wikimedia)
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So, did Dick Cheney really call Christian Bale a dick? After Bale’s epic turn as the former VP in the 2018 movie Vice, Cheney wasn’t showing him praise. Instead, he took the backdoor route and allegedly sent a shady message through Bale’s son’s school. It all went down like this: Bale, who famously gained 40 pounds for the role, revealed in an interview that one of the moms at his son’s school was at a party with Cheney.
She casually mentioned she’d be seeing Bale soon and asked if Cheney had anything to say to him. Cheney’s response? “Tell him he’s a d**k.” No joke. Bale initially thought it was funny, but when the mom clarified there was no humor, the actor realized that the former VP wasn’t exactly cracking a smile. At least Cheney had a way of getting his point across—even if it was a bit indirect. Bale laughed it off, saying it was “strangely” delivered, but it wasn’t lost on him.
And for an actor known for diving deep into his roles, this wasn’t the first time he’d clashed with Cheney’s camp. During his Golden Globes acceptance speech for his role in Vice, Christian Bale dropped another bombshell. He thanked Satan for giving him “inspiration” for the part and referred to Cheney as an “absolutely charisma-free a**hole.” Yeah, subtlety was not Bale’s strong suit for this role.
For the unversed, Vice was a 2018 political drama in which Bale transformed into the onscreen Cheney. The movie painted Cheney as the ultimate behind-the-scenes puppet master during the George W. Bush era, all cold and manipulative. Bale’s performance was Golden Globe-worthy, but it also cranked up the heat between him and the man he was playing with. Talk about taking things personally.
Interestingly, a “source close to” Cheney later denied he ever sent the message to Bale, calling it “totally untrue.” But, with how Bale and Cheney’s history has played out, it seems the truth is somewhere in the middle. Either way, Bale’s role in Vice remains one of the most talked-about performances of his career, and let’s be honest—it’s not every day you get a celebrity-versus-politician feud this juicy.
In the end, whether Cheney liked it or not, Christian Bale’s portrayal of him became iconic. If nothing else, it proved Bale was willing to go all-in to nail this unforgiving character. As for Cheney, well, it looks like he’ll just have to live with being remembered as the “charisma-free a**hole” of Vice—for better or worse.
