Dean Cain defended author Stephen King in a Fox News appearance Tuesday, saying that he had received backlash simply for saying “something that is patently true.”

Cain spoke briefly with Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson about King’s statement that art should be judged on art rather than diversity. (RELATED: Twitter Mob Comes For Dean Cain Over Egg Attack Comments — He Fires Back)

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Carlson began the segment by noting that King was not a conservative and there certainly was no love lost between him and President Donald Trump, but that hadn’t stopped people from attacking him. “He’s a serious liberal,” Carlson explained. “But for the crime of defending art, he is being denounced as a racist. That’s got to have a chilling effect.”

“Well, it’s terrifying,” Cain responded. “If you are not woke enough, you are out. He has put some of the most woke tweets out there ever and he has said something that’s patently true, which is art should be judged on art, not diversity. It should be about the art. It’s what Martin Luther King Jr. asked for. A day when you are ‘judged by the content of your character, not by the color of your skin.’

Carlson went on to question the broader repercussions of the response to King, asking, “Those of us who care about art, who think beauty matters, shouldn’t we be really worried?”

Cain agreed that it was a concern, adding, “Denzel Washington won best actor because he was the best actor. I wouldn’t have given it to him because he’s black. Yeah, he’s my favorite actor, but it’s not because he’s black. It’s because he’s the best actor I know. I don’t think he wants to be judged just because he’s black.”

Carlson changed the subject slightly, citing a poll that named Hollywood the “least trusted” institution in America. “How do you feel about that?” he asked Cain. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: ‘Superman’ Dean Cain To Put On Badge As Reserve Officer, Because ‘Real Heroes Don’t Wear Capes’)

Cain shrugged. “Well, to me, they are the least trusted as well. I agree with that poll,” he said. “Whatever it is that’s going to make you money, if you can do that, you’re in. I mean, look at the people that have fallen from grace, so to speak. Harvey Weinstein. That’s what happens in Hollywood. Somebody with power, oh, the indiscretions, we don’t pay attention to it. Hollywood should be not trusted. Actors are actors and we do our job, but we are certainly not the example of morality.”

Carlson closed out the segment by replaying his “new favorite” clip of actor Ricky Gervais ripping into Hollywood as he hosted the Golden Globes.