New York mosque pits John Cusack vs. Fox News

Cast member John Cusack waves at the premiere of "Hot Tub Time Machine" in Hollywood, California March 17, 2010.[Photo/Agencies]

LOS ANGELES  – Politically minded actor John Cusack has picked a fight with Fox News, and both of them have dealt the "death" card from the bottom of the deck.

Cusack started the war of words when he tweeted to his 209,000 followers -- in all capital letters no less: "I am for a satanic death cult center at Fox News HQ and outside the offices of Dick Armey and Newt Gingrich -- and all the GOP welfare freaks."

Cusack's tweet was a response to a follower who asked whether he supported the construction of the so-called Ground Zero Mosque. Cusack does. Vehemently.

Fox News' response came by way of an article at Foxnews.com by Jo Piazza, who apparently didn't see much humor in Cusack's sarcasm. Piazza writes a hard-news article about Cusack's caustic tweet that even includes experts who warn that his words are dangerous.

Says one expert: "His provocative tweets could easily incite a rabid fan to commit violent acts against Fox News Headquarters and others he names." And another says: "Fans could not only be influenced because of their devotion to Cusack, the man, but also because of their love for one of the characters he plays." Still another says: "John Cusack is taking his fame too seriously. He is having delusions and his anger toward Fox News may get him arrested!"

The Fox News reporter even goes so far as to suggest that Cusack's behavior is kind of like that of a ... serial killer?" Coincidentally, Cusack has just been signed to play Edgar Allen Poe in 'The Raven,' a movie about a serial killer who uses Poe's stories as inspiration for his killing spree," writes Piazza.

It's not the first tweet that has earned Cusack attention. An article in The Daily Caller invokes his most recent film in order to criticize Cusack for being a "Hothead Whine Machine." But Cusack is by no means the only celebrity to weigh in on the Ground Zero Mosque. Musician John Legend tweeted his support for it and Kirk Douglas used his MySpace page to say that he was torn on the issue. And, of course, the celebrity pundits on the major news outlets have been endlessly talking about it. Of particular note is Keith Olbermann on MSNBC where he recently said that the Muslims who would use the proposed Islamic center "will have more to fear from us than us from them."