Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is the latest celebrity to consider leaving the U.S. after Donald Trump’s return to office.
Kimmel confirmed that he had obtained Italian citizenship on The Sarah Silverman Podcast as the pair discussed President Trump's crackdown on birthright citizenship.
“A lot of people I know are thinking about where are they going to get citizenship,” Silverman said.
Highlights
- Jimmy Kimmel confirmed he obtained Italian citizenship on the Sarah Silverman Podcast.
- Several celebrities, like Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres, have relocated abroad following Trump’s re-election, citing political and social concerns.
- Kimmel’s citizenship roots trace back to his grandmother Edith’s family from Candida, Italy, which helped him secure Italian citizenship.
Jimmy Kimmel revealed that he obtained Italian citizenship
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“I did get Italian citizenship,” Kimmel replied.
“I do have that. And what’s going on is – as bad as you thought it was going to be – it’s so much worse. It’s just unbelievable,” he added.
“I feel like it’s even worse than he would like it to be.”
Kimmel first discussed his citizenship at an Italian Republic Day event in Los Angeles in June, according to Italian news agency Ansa.
“I have just obtained citizenship, thanks to my beloved grandmother Edith, whose family came from Candida, in the province of Avellino,” he told the crowd.
Several celebrities have already left the U.S. in response to Trump’s re-election, including comedian Rosie O’Donnell, whom Trump said he was considering taking citizenship from.
O’Donnell, born in New York, has relocated to Ireland, and similarly, Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi moved to the English countryside last year.
Speaking of her move to the UK, DeGeneres said: “Everything here is just better – the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.”
She also expressed concerns over efforts to repeal same-sex marriage in the U.S. and said if that happened, she would remarry Rossi in the UK.
Celebrities have been leaving the U.S. since Trump was re-elected
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Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria said Trump’s re-election contributed to her decision to leave America and split her time between Mexico and Spain.
Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner told Harper’s Bazaar last year that the political climate in the U.S., particularly gun violence and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, was partly behind her decision to return to the UK after her divorce from Joe Jonas.
Barbie and Ugly Betty actress America Ferrera is also reportedly looking at schools in the UK for her children.
Kimmel’s citizenship announcement comes as Trump suggested that he would be the next late-night talk show host to be axed, following the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Image credits: Donald J Trump
CBS announced the cancellation of Colbert’s show in July, citing financial pressures, but the move came after he had criticized Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump.
Colbert and Kimmel are both frequent critics of the U.S. president.
While Paramount has denied that the decision was politically motivated, it faced sharp criticism over fears it had bowed to political pressure to secure a merger with Skydance Media.
Trump welcomed the cancellation, writing on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!”
A few days later, he posted: “The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, [Jimmy] Fallon will be gone.”