“Clueless ” star Stacey Dash, a news pundit? As if! But no, really.
On Monday, the 47-year-old actress debuted on Fox News as a special contributor. It may seem like an odd fit, but Dash — best known as Alicia Silverstone’s bestie Dionne in the 1995 film — has become one of Hollywood’s most outspoken conservatives.
And one of its most controversial.
When the former Democrat publicly switched parties in 2012, she was deluged. “I made my choice to vote for Mitt Romney and I tweeted something at 10 o’clock at night, and the next day, my life changed,” says Dash, who felt Obama hadn’t revitalized the economy.
“People said I should kill myself, they called me an Uncle Tom, said I don’t think I’m black, [that] I don’t like black people, which to me is absurd,” Dash says.
“Because I’m black, I should have to vote for the black president? It doesn’t make sense.”
Dash later enraged the Twittersphere when she posted a message of support for accused racist Paula Deen in June 2013: “God does everything for a reason @Paula_Deen. Only God can judge your heart BTW my daughter loves your show (only way she can get me to cook).”
Earlier, she tweeted about Jay Z and Beyoncé’s decision to vacation in Cuba: “Do you care that The Jay-Z’s have taken the capital you have given them and funded a communist oppressive regime?”
Dash doesn’t take it back. “When I tweet something, I’ve given it great thought and it’s what I believe. Yes, it is my humble opinion and they can take it or leave it, but I do stand up for what I believe in.”
Gossip blogs have recently been just as intrigued by The Bronx-born beauty’s love life than her politics. The mother of a 23-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter, Dash was linked with 25-year-old model Michael Evers when they were spotted hiking in Los Angeles in mid-June.
“I was not dating him,” she says. “I am not dating him. I am single.”
Still, she took to her “cougar” title like a champ. “I don’t think it’s sexist, but . . . men [date younger] and they’re called players. Women do it and we’re called something else.”
For now, Dash says she’s just trying to get a hold of the whole “dating thing.” “It’s liberating, but it’s mind-boggling,” says thrice-divorced Dash. While she claims not to “judge anyone by their political standings,” Dash admits a recent date ran afoul for just that reason.
“He was very, very liberal and kind of hippie-ish and, you know, that didn’t quite work out well,” says Dash, who’s also working on a memoir, “Not Black Enough.”
The LA-based actress says that while she’s in town for Fox, she’ll test the NYC dating scene. “You know, New York men, they have a little bit more swagger, which I like.”
Be forewarned: Dash doesn’t like liars — or “Clueless” superfans.
“If I have a man say ‘Whatever’ on a date, that’s a really big red flag.”