Donald Trump has appointed three of his long-time celebrity supporters – Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone – to make Hollywood “stronger than ever” as “special ambassadors” for the movie capital.
The president-elect announced the new appointments, whose duties remain unclear, on Truth Social on Thursday, four days before his inauguration. “I am honored to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone as special ambassadors for a great but deeply troubled place, Hollywood, California,” he wrote.
“They will serve as my special envoys for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost so much business over the past four years to foreign countries, back, bigger, better and stronger than ever before! These three extremely talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will do what they suggest.” It will once again be, like the United States of America itself, the Golden Age of Hollywood!
Trump has long been critical of Hollywood, which has seen celebrities overwhelmingly support Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. He made the announcement as wildfires continue to ravage Southern California and dramatically disrupt the film and television industry. Many people in Hollywood lost their homes in the fires that killed 25 people, displaced tens of thousands, and hampered businesses, with costs estimated at more than $250 billion.
His post appeared to point to a decline in the US box office, which is struggling to recover from the pandemic and a double writers-and-actors strike in 2023. Last year’s revenues of $8.7 billion were down 3.3% from 2023 and 23.5% from 2019, which Last full year. A year before the Covid pandemic.
Like the president-elect, the three new “special ambassadors” are no strangers to controversy. Gibson, a huge star in the 1980s and 1990s, did not reach the same heights after he was caught on tape making racist and anti-Semitic remarks during a 2006 DUI arrest. Voight, arguably the most vocal Trump supporter in Hollywood — and a recipient of the National Medal of Arts from Trump in 2019 – described His estranged daughter Angelina Jolie’s support for refugees in Gaza is a result of “propaganda” from “anti-Semitic people”.
Meanwhile, Stallone supported Trump during the 2024 election campaign, calling the Republican candidate a “George Washington II.”
“We are facing a truly legendary figure,” he said at the America First Politics Gala in Palm Beach, Florida, in November. “No one in the world could have pulled off what he did, so I’m in awe.”
It is unclear whether the Hollywood trio will attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday in Washington, DC. The concert will feature former American Idol and country music star Carrie Underwood singing America the Beautiful. Other performers include country singer Jason Aldean and longtime Trump supporter Kid Rock.