‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Star Jon Bernthal Says Fear of Pit Bulls Is “Dog Racism”

Jon Bernthal has never been shy about speaking his mind, whether he’s talking about his craft as an actor or the causes he genuinely cares about off-screen. That candor has made him one of the more compelling guests on the celebrity interview circuit, someone who tends to say exactly what he thinks without much filtering.

That tendency was on full display during his latest media stop promoting ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ where a conversation that started as fairly standard press tour chatter took an unexpectedly passionate turn. What began as small talk quickly became one of the more debated moments of Bernthal’s entire promotional run.

During a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Bernthal defended pit bulls with real intensity, calling the widespread fear surrounding the breed “dog racism” and directly comparing it to judging people based on their race or sexual orientation. He didn’t hold back, either, insisting that “my dogs are the greatest” and that people need to stop perpetuating what he called the “myth” that pit bulls are inherently dangerous.

Bernthal doubled down on the comparison multiple times throughout the conversation. “I think to be afraid of a breed of dog is completely ridiculous,” he said. “It’s like being afraid of somebody for their race or their sexual orientation. It’s completely ridiculous.” He went on to argue that any dog is capable of biting someone, joking that “if a pit bull bites you, it kind of sucks,” but insisting the breed is “no more likely to bite you than a Chihuahua or any other breed of dog.”

“My dogs are the greatest. People have got to stop that. Pit bulls don’t attack. It’s just racism. It’s dog racism. To be afraid of a breed of dog is completely ridiculous. It’s like being afraid of somebody for their race or their sexual orientation. If a pit bull bites you, it’s going to suck, but they’re no more likely to bite you than a Chihuahua or any other breed of dog”

His argument didn’t stop at defending the dogs themselves. Bernthal suggested that a pit bull’s behavior has far more to do with ownership and training than any inherent trait tied to the breed, pointing the blame squarely at how owners raise and handle their pets rather than anything biological.

That framing led into one of the more pointed parts of the conversation, where Bernthal took aim at a specific type of owner he sees as contributing to the breed’s negative reputation. He criticized people who adopt pit bulls purely to project toughness without properly training or caring for them, specifically calling out what he described as “wannabe gangsters” being pulled down Venice Beach by dogs they haven’t bothered to train, adding that to him, that kind of display isn’t manly or strong at all.

Bernthal’s comments quickly spread across social media, with clips of the interview racking up millions of views within hours of airing. Reactions have been split, with some viewers praising his passionate defense of a frequently maligned breed, while others have pushed back on the comparison to human discrimination as an overreach.

This isn’t the first time animal welfare advocates and skeptics alike have debated pit bull stereotypes in public discourse, and Bernthal’s blunt framing has reignited that broader conversation in a particularly viral way. Whether or not his “dog racism” comparison lands with everyone, it’s clear the actor genuinely believes in the cause he’s championing.

For an actor currently riding the wave of a record-breaking Spider-Man release, it’s a reminder that Bernthal’s off-screen opinions can generate just as much buzz as his on-screen work. Whether this particular soundbite fades quickly or keeps circulating remains to be seen.

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