Meet Antonio Sabto Jr, who was cancelled by Hollywood for supporting Donald Trump but the Gene

Publish date: 2024-07-07

Per his Daily Mail interview, his agents dropped him not long after his RNC speech, and his projects disappeared. However, things seem to be looking up for the former General Hospital and Melrose Place star as he recently signed up to appear on Celebrity Boxing.

Here’s what we know about the 52-year-old father of three who once compared being shunned by Hollywood to the Holocaust and who no longer supports Trump – or the Democrats.

Where is Antonio Sabàto Jr from?

Sabàto was born and raised in Rome until he was 13 years old. His family emigrated to Los Angeles in 1984 after losing their home to an arson attack, according to the book Sabato: The Untold Story. His father, Antonio Sabàto Sr., who was a well-known actor in Europe in the 60s, per IMDB, wanted his children to have a better future, the actor said in The Paul Cardall Podcast.

His father was an actor

Sabàto Jr calls his late father his “Hercules” and has said his father was denied opportunities, betrayed and lied to in America, adding that “Hollywood wasn’t there for him”, he said on The Paul Cardall Podcast. He blames Hollywood’s “racism” for his father’s lack of work, which saw Sabàto Sr to go into construction while his mother worked three jobs.

Meanwhile, Sabàto Jr took acting classes and, with his father’s help, started doing some European films before blowing up with General Hospital in 1992.

His grandmother was a Holocaust survivor

Sabàto also revealed on The Paul Cardall Podcast that his grandmother’s family were taken to Auschwitz, but she had been able to hide in Prague with the help of friends and neighbours, and survive the Holocaust.

Sabàto also shared that his mum then grew up under the Communist Party, before escaping to Italy, where she met and married his father in the 70s.

He claims to have dated Madonna

Sabàto told The US Sun earlier this year that he dated Madonna in the early 90s when she was at the peak of her career. However, the Ghost Voyage actor added that he kept their relationship under wraps to avoid being called the Queen of Pop’s “toy boy”. “She was amazing. We had a great summer together,” he said.

He’s a recovering addict

In 2018, while the Dancing with the Stars alum was running for the 26th district Congressional seat in the Golden State amid his divorce from now ex-wife Cheryl Marie, she accused him of drug abuse. Per TMZ, Marie was “concerned about [their] kid’s safety due to Antonio’s drug addiction”.

Marie alleged that Sabàto was addicted to benzodiazepines, which are depressant drugs. TMZ reported that her divorce documents mention how he “admitted using crystal meth”. Sabàto told TMZ that he went to rehab for sleeping pills, but “whatever else she says is just a bunch of lies”.

More recently, Sabàto Jr told the Daily Mail that he has been “drug-free for the past eight years”.

What has he been up to?

After being dropped by Hollywood, Sabàto moved to Florida and began working in construction – like his dad did back in the day. He told the Daily Mail, “I was going to job sites from midnight to six in the morning, and then I would actually do the job like pouring concrete from the truck. I did it all”.

In 2020, he announced plans to launch a “conservative movie studio”, per USA Today. He was set to produce, direct and star in a movie called Trail Blazers. The High Voltage star told The Paul Cardall Podcast in 2023 that “we were attacked by the devil in that film” but that he would “make this film no matter what”.

He’s now happily partnered up with Katia Fernandez, co-wrote Sabato: The Untold Story, has a documentary and a movie, Grace By Night, coming soon, and is training for a new Celebrity Boxing league, XRumble.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kuqKzwLOgp52jZMC1xcueZp6mpJq%2Fta3Ip6SepqRkrrPAyJyjnmdjZ4N6hZJxZqadlal6orrTqKWip12orqOt06hko6pdrLWwedaaqmabkaOwprjLnptmoJ%2BhubrDzqibZqulpb2wvtOipaBllKS7orjDZqurrZ2leqixzZ6pmqRdnby0vMitmKVlkZjBsL4%3D