Why Was Gene Hackman on President Nixon’s ‘Enemies List’?

Gene Hackman, who passed away this week at 95, lived an incredible life.

The French Connection star was beloved by his fans, acclaimed by the industry and made many friends in Hollywood.

However, he also made a few enemies.

Hackman was reportedly hated by former President Richard Nixon, earning him a spot on the Republican's so-called "Enemies List."

Why Was Gene Hackman on Nixon's Enemies List?

Richard Nixon, who was president between 1969 and his resignation in 1974, was apparently a little paranoid and believed there were people out there who wanted to see him fail.

He reportedly kept a close eye on anyone he thought might be trying to undermine him, and one of those people was Gene Hackman, whose own political views were in direct contrast to Nixon's.

A lifelong and vocal Democrat with liberal-leaning values, Hackman was proud to be considered an "enemy" by Nixon, who was reportedly incensed by Hackman's support of Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern in 1972.

READ MORE: Why Did Gene Hackman Stop Acting?

Hackman's inclusion on Nixon's list of personal enemies is also believed to be related to his starring role in the 1974 film The Conversation.

According to IMDb, in the film Hackman stars as "a paranoid, secretive surveillance expert" who "has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered."

Nixon, who compiled his supposed enemies list with the help of government intelligence, reportedly included many other celebrities on the list, including Carol Channing, Bill Cosby, Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand.

Like Hackman, Streisand also saw it as an honor to be hated by the former president, who infamously resigned in 1974 after being accused of abusing his power to protect his government position.

"I was on Nixon’s enemies list because I supported [Eugene] McCarthy in 1968 and raised funds for Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers trial. Then I did a concert for George McGovern," Streisand once told The Los Angeles Times.