Mayim Bialik says she faced family backlash over COVID views

Bialik said relatives wrongly labelled her a Republican, insisting she considers herself a "bleeding-heart liberal."

Mayim Bialik has opened up about facing criticism, including from her own family, after she questioned COVID era school closures and the 2020 Black Lives Matter marches.
Speaking on the Second Thought podcast, the 50 year old actress said she simply wanted to have open discussions about the issues but was instead met with criticism, even from people close to her. She said that even inside her own home, the conversations did not always feel safe.
Bialik said some family members went as far as accusing her of being a Republican because of the opinions she expressed, a label she firmly rejected, describing herself instead as a bleeding heart liberal.

She also recalled facing backlash after saying she believed then President Joe Biden should not run for another term, with people accusing her of turning on the Democratic Party. She said she believes democracy depends on people being able to disagree with one another respectfully.
Reflecting more broadly, Bialik said the COVID 19 pandemic deepened political division and made everyday public discussions far more difficult, adding that people on both the political left and right grew increasingly extreme during that period.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Bialik looked back on her childhood as a young actor in Hollywood, recalling that her parents would ground her to make sure she stayed focused on school, homework and chores despite her early fame. She also spoke about the slower years of her career before landing the role of Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory in 2010. After starring in the sitcom Blossom in the 1990s, she had stepped away from acting to complete her education, going on to earn a PhD in neuroscience before eventually returning to television.