Danny Trejo responds to criticism over Daily Wire film Pawn Shop

• Trejo said on Instagram that he is a proud Mexican, supports his community, and is “not pro-ICE.”
• His son Gilbert Trejo says Danny was given a different explanation of the film beforehand, and that Ben Shapiro’s involvement only became clear later.

What happened

Danny Trejo is under fire for taking part in Pawn Shop, an upcoming film from The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro’s media company. Coverage has described the movie as sounding like pro-ICE propaganda, though that is an interpretation from reporting rather than a confirmed description from the filmmakers themselves. The backlash started after online criticism focused on the clash between Trejo’s public image and The Daily Wire’s political reputation.

Trejo responded publicly on Instagram, saying he is a proud Mexican, supports his community, and is not pro-ICE. With that, he distanced himself from the political reading that spread online around the film. In the reporting provided, his response is framed as a direct attempt to make clear that his involvement in the movie should not be taken as support for anti-immigration policy or ICE.

According to his son Gilbert Trejo, Danny may have been misled about the project when he signed on. Gilbert said his father was told it was “a complicated story about a complicated time” and that he would play “the hardworking Mexican shop owner who just wants peace.” He also claimed that Ben Shapiro’s involvement did not become clear until about two weeks after filming began. That claim has not been independently confirmed in the provided sources, but it is a major part of the current controversy around the film.

The reporting also notes that Trejo has appeared in more than 200 films. That adds to the attention here: this is not an unknown supporting actor, but a long-established character actor who has appeared in a wide range of productions for decades. At this stage, the provided information does not include a confirmed response from Ben Shapiro or The Daily Wire to Gilbert Trejo’s claims.

Background

According to the provided sources, Trejo has appeared in more than 200 films and has been a well-known character actor for decades. External context also puts his film and TV credits at roughly 250. So the debate here is not about his overall career, but about what he knew about the content and political angle of this specific project when he signed on.

The core of the controversy is that the film is being tied in reporting to Ben Shapiro and The Daily Wire, while the exact content of Pawn Shop is not fully laid out in the provided information. That means it remains unclear whether the movie is as politically charged as some comments suggest. The available sources focus mainly on Trejo’s public response and his son Gilbert Trejo’s counterclaim, not on a full description of the film itself.

According to the provided information, the moment Ben Shapiro’s involvement became clear is important. Gilbert Trejo says that happened only about two weeks after filming started. If true, that would mean the Trejo family initially understood the project differently from how it was later discussed online. That interpretation remains Gilbert Trejo’s claim, however, and is not confirmed by the production in the supplied sources.

It is also still unclear what Trejo’s agent told him before he agreed to the role. That matters because the current discussion is not only about Trejo’s public statement, but also about how the project was presented internally. In the provided context, there is no response from Ben Shapiro or The Daily Wire that confirms or disputes Gilbert Trejo’s claims.

So the available reporting leaves the issue on two levels: Trejo’s own statement about his political stance, and the unconfirmed claim that he did not fully know how closely Pawn Shop would be tied to Ben Shapiro and The Daily Wire. Until more information comes out, the main question remains how the project was pitched and how the film should ultimately be understood.

Sources

• Kotaku: reporting on the backlash against Danny Trejo and Pawn Shop
• Deadline: quoted claims from Gilbert Trejo about how the project was presented