‘Home Alone 2’ director says Donald Trump cameo is a “curse”: “If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country”
Chris Columbus has previously claimed the US president "bullied" his way into the movie
by Elizabeth Aubrey · NMEThe director of Home Alone 2: Lost In New York has described the Donald Trump cameo as a “curse”, saying: “If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country.”
It comes after famed director Chris Columbus spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle about the appearance of the current President of the United States in the movie.
The short scene sees Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister asking Trump for directions to the lobby in the famous Plaza Hotel in New York. “Down the hall and to the left,” Trump responds.
Columbus told the publication: “It’s become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there. It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.”
He then went on to claim that he can’t just cut the cameo, however, saying under the current administration he fears he would be sent home to Italy.
Columbus added: “I can’t cut it. If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country. I’ll be considered sort of not fit to live in the United States, so I’ll have to go back to Italy or something.”
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Back in 2020, Columbus claimed that Trump “bullied” his way into the cameo.
In an interview with Insider at the time, Columbus revealed that he “wanted to shoot in the lobby” of the hotel for the film due to it being impossible to recreate the hustle and bustle of a real-life hotel entrance “on a soundstage.”
Initially offering Trump a fee for use of the hotel, as is standard practice for this kind of film shoot, the future President instead said: “The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie.”
“People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen,” Columbus said of his eventual cameo on the movie. “So I said to my editor, ‘Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience.’ But he did bully his way into the movie.”
Recently, Daryl Hannah claimed the first Donald Trump administration tried to “mess Neil Young up” over his American citizenship.
The ‘Harvest Moon’ singer is set to return to the UK and Europe as part of his ‘Love Earth’ world tour with the Chrome Hearts, which includes a bill-topping set at Glastonbury Festival in late June, and a headline slot at BST Hyde Park the following month.
In August, he’s due to return to the US for a run of North American tour dates. However, Young recently questioned if he’ll be able to re-enter the United States when the European tour wraps, due to his many criticisms of the President. This comes after the Trump administration deported and detained several immigrants over their political views, including pro-Palestine activists, as well as those backing Ukraine over Russia.
“That’s right folks,” he wrote on his blog. “If you say anything bad about Trump or his administration, you may be barred from re-entering USA. If you are Canadian, if you are a dual citizen like me, who knows? We’ll all find that out together.”
Speaking recently to the BBC, the musician’s wife Hannah then claimed Young was harassed during the first Trump administration as he went through the process of becoming a US citizen.
“They tried to every trick in the book to mess him up, and made him keep coming back to be re-interviewed and re-interviewed. It’s ridiculous,” she said. “He’s been living in America and paying taxes here since he was in his 20s.”
In light of his own speculations he may not be let back into the country, Hannah continued: “They’ve been detaining people who have green cards or visas – which is hideous and horrifying – but they have not, so far, been refusing to let American citizens back in the country, so I don’t think that’s going to happen.”