President-elect Donald Trump has selected a group of well-known actors to serve as “special ambassadors,” focusing on domestic rather than international matters.
“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
While it is unclear exactly what their roles will be, it seems a little similar to Emperor Palpatine naming Anakin his special representative to the Jedi Council (any similarity of Emperor Palpatine and President Trump is not intended).
Trump stated that the trio would act as his “eyes and ears,” adding, “I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!” All three actors are known for their public support of the president-elect.
Jon Voight, in particular, has been a strong advocate for Trump, calling him “the greatest president of this century” in 2019. That same year, Voight received the National Medal of Arts from Trump.
In a statement, 69-year-old Gibson expressed his surprise, saying he learned the news “at the same time as all of you and was just as surprised.”
“Nevertheless, I accept the call,” he continued. “As a citizen, it’s my duty to contribute whatever help and insight I can.”
Reflecting on his recent loss of his home in the Los Angeles wildfires, Gibson added with a touch of humor, “Does the position come with an Ambassador’s residence by any chance?”
It is also unclear if Trump intends for these new Ambassadors to work with the film industry in general or specifically just in Hollywood so how this impacts the film industry in Georgia is unknown. It would be interesting to see if Trump intends to intervene (in some way), with the number of productions that have left the country recently (specifically the U.K.) and attempt to bring those productions back to the U.S.
