David Lynch Found Hope for 'Divided' Country in Last PEOPLE Interview: 'This World Is Supposed to Be Beautiful' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Director David Lynch in 2017.Photo:Stefania D’Alessandro/Getty

Stefania D’Alessandro/Getty

In one of his final interviews,director David Lynchsaid he was “very upset with us on this planet right now” but believed we could find a way to get along.“People in the United States are divided, and one side almost literally and truly hates the other side,” Lynch, who died Jan. 16 at the age of 78, told PEOPLE in a Nov. 1 interview. “This is not a way to live.“TheTwin Peaksdirector decried the ugliness of a partisan society: “There is so much bulls— going on these days, it’s hard to believe. It’s like a nursery school. It’s like little nasty children in a nursery school, and we’re pooping in our pants, we’re smelling up the place, and it’s not pretty. And it doesn’t have to be this way.“Lynch, a lifelong smoker who was diagnosed with emphysema in 2020, urged people to think about the common good.“We need to be getting along together,” said Lynch, the Oscar-winning director behind iconic films such asMulholland DriveandBlue Velvet. “There’s so many things we’d all agree on. We can solve these problems working together. Divided we fall, united we stand. This is a true thing. This life is not supposed to be a bad joke. This world is supposed to be beautiful. We’re supposed to love each other as a family. “Director David Lynch filming ‘Wild at Heart’.Acey Harper/GettyAt the time of Lynch’s interview in November, his health had deteriorated to the point that he needed oxygen to walk across a room. But despite that — and what he saw as the state of the world — he said he remained “filled with happiness” because of his long-time practice ofTranscendental Meditation. “When you get it from within, it doesn’t go away.”

In one of his final interviews,director David Lynchsaid he was “very upset with us on this planet right now” but believed we could find a way to get along.

“People in the United States are divided, and one side almost literally and truly hates the other side,” Lynch, who died Jan. 16 at the age of 78, told PEOPLE in a Nov. 1 interview. “This is not a way to live.”

TheTwin Peaksdirector decried the ugliness of a partisan society: “There is so much bulls— going on these days, it’s hard to believe. It’s like a nursery school. It’s like little nasty children in a nursery school, and we’re pooping in our pants, we’re smelling up the place, and it’s not pretty. And it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Lynch, a lifelong smoker who was diagnosed with emphysema in 2020, urged people to think about the common good.

“We need to be getting along together,” said Lynch, the Oscar-winning director behind iconic films such asMulholland DriveandBlue Velvet. “There’s so many things we’d all agree on. We can solve these problems working together. Divided we fall, united we stand. This is a true thing. This life is not supposed to be a bad joke. This world is supposed to be beautiful. We’re supposed to love each other as a family. "

Director David Lynch filming ‘Wild at Heart’.Acey Harper/Getty

Acey Harper/Getty

At the time of Lynch’s interview in November, his health had deteriorated to the point that he needed oxygen to walk across a room. But despite that — and what he saw as the state of the world — he said he remained “filled with happiness” because of his long-time practice ofTranscendental Meditation. “When you get it from within, it doesn’t go away.”

source: people.com