Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Cruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R-Texas) on Thursday criticized actor Kevin Bacon and NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, saying “Hollywood liberals” are excited that the senator's Democratic challenger, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, has supported the athletes.

“Most Texans stand for the flag, but Hollywood liberals are so excited that Beto is siding with NFL players protesting the national anthem that Kevin Bacon just retweeted it. That means all of us us can now win Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!” Cruz wrote in a quote-tweet of Bacon’s tweet.

Most Texans stand for the flag, but Hollywood liberals are so excited that Beto is siding with NFL players protesting the national anthem that Kevin Bacon just retweeted it. That means all of us us can now win Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon! https://t.co/8oWpL1AuyF — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 23, 2018

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Bacon wrote “Thanks For sharing this!” in a tweet earlier on Thursday in response to a video showing O’Rourke defending NFL players who have kneeled during the anthem. That video has gone viral since surfacing earlier this week.

In the clip, O’Rourke says he “can think of nothing more American” than the protests, noting that they are meant to bring attention to African Americans who are "being killed at a frightening level right now, including by members of law enforcement without accountability and without justice."

His remarks came in response to a question he received at a recent town hall event about whether he found the protests disrespectful.

Cruz’s tweet on Thursday wasn’t the first time he has attacked a celebrity for supporting O’Rourke. Last year, he referred to Rosie O'Donnell as an “out of touch” liberal after she tweeted that she made the maximum donation allowed to O’Rourke’s campaign.