Jon Bernthal is pushing back hard against the criticism surrounding pit bulls.
The actor says public fear of the breed amounts to what he called “dog racism,” arguing that pit bulls are unfairly stigmatized.
Speaking during a recent appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” the 49-year-old star of “The Punisher,” “Spider-Man” and “Daredevil” compared negative assumptions about pit bulls to judging people by their race or sexual orientation.
“My dogs are the greatest, and they’re honest. So the myth of the pit bull is a lot of bulls–t. People got to stop that. Pit bulls don’t attack,” Bernthal said.
He went further, adding: “It’s just racism. It’s just dog racism. I think to be afraid of a breed of dog is completely ridiculous. It’s like being afraid of somebody for their race or their sexual orientation.”
The remarks come despite data collected by Animals 24-7 indicating that pit bulls were linked to more than three-quarters of fatal dog attacks on humans in the US and Canada in 2025.
According to the figures, 84 fatal dog attacks on humans were recorded in 2025, a record total, and 64 of those deaths are believed to have involved pit bulls.
Animals 24-7 also reported that, over the past 13 years, nearly 29,000 fatal dog attacks on other animals occurred on average each year, with pit bulls accounting for about 89% of the attacking dogs. The outlet’s authors have advocated for laws restricting certain breeds.
The federal government stopped reporting the dog breeds behind fatal attacks decades ago because it found the reports identifying the breed of dog involved to be unreliable.
But Bernthal pointed to the fact that pit bulls are not the most likely breed to bite humans, and blamed bad owners for the behavior.
“If a pit bull bites you, it kind of sucks. But they’re no more likely to bite you than a Chihuahua or any other breed of dog,” he said. “I think that it probably has more to do with who owns them and how they were trained.”
Bernthal admitted that many people buy pit bulls to project a tough-guy image.
“I think that a lot of knuckleheads, unfortunately, are attracted to that breed of dog. When I see some wannabe gangster getting pulled down Venice Beach by his pit bull, to me that’s not manly or strong at all,” he said.
Representatives for Bernthal did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
