Rob Reiner, the acclaimed director of the 1987 fantasy classic “The Princess Bride,” and his wife, Michelle Singer, were tragically found dead in their Brentwood home on December 14. Records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later revealed their cause of death as “multiple sharp force injuries.” Hours after the discovery, their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of murder in connection with his parents’ deaths.

The news prompted an outpouring of grief and remembrance, with actor Cary Elwes, who starred in “The Princess Bride,” sharing a heartfelt statement on Instagram. Elwes expressed his profound grief, stating, “Enough time has passed that I can finally put my grief into words.” He recalled first meeting Reiner at 24 and instantly “fell in love with him,” admiring his work and wishing to have him in his life.

Elwes painted a picture of Reiner as a man who “wore his heart on his sleeve” and “always tried to find the best in people.” He emphasized Reiner’s passion for filmmaking, not just the final product, but “the experience itself” of creation. Elwes quoted Reiner saying, “Once the movie is released it belongs to other people. But while you are making it, that’s your time on the planet, so you wanna make it good.” Elwes cherished his time with Reiner on “The Princess Bride,” remembering it as filled with laughter, and noted that the film’s themes of “love, loyalty and sacrifice” were values Reiner held dear, making him the “perfect person to direct it.”

Cary Elwes concluded his tribute by thanking Reiner and Singer for sharing their lives and acknowledging his enduring pain: “Because my heart still aches every time I think of you, I know the grief of losing you too soon will likely never go away. Sure, death cannot stop true love but life is pain without you.”

In the wake of Reiner’s tragic passing, former U.S. President Donald Trump made headlines for his repeated and widely condemned attacks on the director. In a Truth Social post, Trump alleged that Reiner’s death, along with his wife’s, was “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.” Trump further described Reiner as “a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star” who “drove people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump.”

Trump doubled down on his criticism when questioned by the press, stating he “wasn’t a fan of his at all” and considered Reiner “a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned,” concluding, “I thought he was very bad for our country.” These comments sparked widespread condemnation from various figures.

Podcaster Joe Rogan was among the first industry heavyweights to speak out against Trump’s remarks. On his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan vehemently criticized Trump’s lack of empathy, stating, “The Rob Reiner thing is not funny. When you see it with no empathy, that’s when it’s hard to like.” He drew parallels to celebrating the death of others and questioned how anyone could not react with sorrow to Reiner’s violent death, suggesting someone should have taken Trump’s “fucking phone” away. Rogan expressed deep disappointment, remarking, “It just shows you how crazy it is, the way Trump thinks and talks. It’s just like, the guy got sliced up by his kid, you know? Anybody that doesn’t see that and go, ‘Fuck, man.’”

Hollywood united in its condemnation. Josh Gad posted on Threads, calling Trump a “psychopath” and asserting Reiner was “1000 times the man you are,” caring about American people unlike Trump. Jimmy Kimmel bashed Trump’s comments as “hateful and vile,” emphasizing the need for compassion and leadership, which he stated Trump lacked. Whoopi Goldberg on “The View” condemned Trump and criticized Republicans for their silence, declaring, “Damn you all.”

The initial tragedy of Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer’s deaths, coupled with the arrest of their son Nick, formed a somber backdrop to the subsequent public discourse, highlighting both the personal loss felt by those who knew Reiner and the political polarization that permeated even tragic events.