George Clooney has become embroiled in politics ahead of his on-screen reunion with Brad Pitt later this year.
On Wednesday, Clooney The New York TimesIn it, he called on Biden to resign following his performance with President Donald Trump in last month’s presidential debate.
“I love Joe Biden — as a Senator, as Vice President and as President. I consider him a friend and I believe in him. I believe in his character. I believe in his morals. And over the past four years he has won many of the battles he has faced,” Clooney wrote.
“But the only battle he can’t win is the battle against time. No one can win that. It’s heartbreaking to say this, but the Joe Biden I was with at a fundraiser three weeks ago was not the ‘big’ Joe Biden of 2010. He’s not even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same person we all witnessed at the debates.”
George Clooney has found himself embroiled in politics after writing an opinion piece in the New York Times calling on President Biden to withdraw his support for the Democratic nomination. (AP/Getty)
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Clooney continued, “We are not going to win in November with this president. Not only that, we are not going to win the House and we are going to lose the Senate. And this is not just my opinion, this is the opinion of every senator, congressman and governor that I have spoken to privately. Every single one of them, regardless of what they say publicly.”
According to Vanity Fair, Clooney hosted a fundraiser for Biden in Los Angeles last month that was joined by a star-studded cast that included Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, Jack Black, Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn and Mindy Kaling.
The event raised a record $30 million, according to the Biden campaign.
A week before the fundraiser, Clooney reportedly called the White House about Biden’s criticism of the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s pursuit of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was represented by his wife, lawyer Amal Clooney.
Clooney reportedly discussed with the White House Biden’s criticism of the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was handled by his wife, lawyer Amal Clooney. (Dave Bennett/Getty Images)
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The Washington Post It was first reported that the “Ocean’s 11” star had called presidential adviser Steve Ricchetti to protest President Biden’s decision to reject a request for International Criminal Court arrest warrants targeting Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
Clooney also criticized Trump in an op-ed, saying, “We all think the Republican Party should abandon their nominee now that he’s been convicted of 34 felonies,” and calling Trump’s campaign a “revenge tour.”
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President Trump fired back on Truth Social on Thursday, mocking Clooney’s film career.
“So now George Clooney, a fake movie actor who never made a great movie, has stepped into the role,” Trump wrote on social media. “Clooney turned his back on Crooked Joe like they’re both despicable bastards. What does Clooney know?”
Former President Trump slammed George Clooney on Truth Social, calling him a “fake movie actor… who has never come close to making a great movie.” (Getty Images)
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“Clooney should get out of politics and go back to TV,” he added. “Movies never worked for him!!!”
Fox News Digital reached out to Clooney’s representatives, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t Clooney’s first foray into politics, but coincidentally it comes ahead of his big on-screen reunion with his Ocean’s Eleven co-star Brad Pitt.
In “Wolves,” the pair play fixers hired to cover up crimes who end up reluctantly working together on the same job. This will be their first time acting together on screen since 2008’s “Burn After Reading.”
Clooney and Brad Pitt step outside to film “Wolves,” their first on-screen appearance together in 16 years. (James Devaney/GC Images)
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It also marks Clooney’s first major acting role since the 2022 romantic comedy “Ticket to Paradise,” in which he co-stars with his “Ocean’s Eleven” co-star Julia Roberts. (Clooney made a cameo appearance in “The Flash” last year and did a voice role in “If” this year.)
“Ticket to Paradise” made $168.6 million at the box office before moving to streaming on Peacock.
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Clooney also directed and produced the 2023 film “The Boys in the Boat,” based on the true story of the University of Washington rowing team that attempted to compete in the 1936 Olympics.
The 63-year-old began his career in television, appearing in series such as “Facts of Life” and “Roseanne,” before his breakthrough in 1994 with “ER.”
Clooney rose to fame for his role in ER. (Sven Arnstein/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images, via Getty Images)
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During his time on ER, he landed his first major film role in the horror/comedy/action film From Dusk Till Dawn, followed by the romance film One Fine Day opposite Michelle Pfeiffer.
He continued to build on his film roles in Batman & Robin, Out of Sight and Three Kings.
In 2001, he cemented his status as a leading actor by starring in Ocean’s Eleven alongside an all-star cast that included Pitt, Roberts and Matt Damon.
He made his directorial debut in 2002 with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
George Clooney and his Ocean’s Eleven co-stars Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia attended the film’s London premiere. (Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
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In 2005, Clooney wrote, directed and starred in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the story of journalist Edward R. Murrow’s challenge to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s fear-mongering and ethically questionable communist witch hunt.
It was one of his first openly political roles in Hollywood: At the film’s screening at the 43rd New York Film Festival, Clooney said, “I thought it was a good time to bring up this idea of using fear to silence political debate.”
In 2006, he was nominated for best director and best original screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck, and was nominated for best supporting actor for his performance in Syriana, based on the memoir of a former CIA agent who served in the Middle East.
Clooney accepted the award for Syriana and spoke out about Hollywood being considered “outdated” at the time.
In his 2006 Best Supporting Actor acceptance speech, Clooney addressed criticism of Hollywood at the time that it was “outdated.” (Michael Caulfield Archive/WireImage)
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“I think in Hollywood we can be a little out of touch sometimes, and that’s probably a good thing,” he says. He told the audience. “We are the ones who brought this up, who talked about AIDS when people were talking about it, who talked about civil rights when civil rights were not so common. In 1939, this Academy, this group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar at a time when black people still sat in the back of the theater. I am proud to be a part of this Academy, proud to be a part of this community, proud to be naive. Thank you so much.”
Clooney has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in Michael Clayton, Up in the Air and The Descendants.
He continued to work behind the camera, writing, directing, producing and starring in films such as “Leatherheads,” “The Eyes of March” and “The Monuments Men.”
Clooney also won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Argo, which he produced alongside Ben Affleck, who also directed and starred in the film.
Clooney won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2013 for the film, along with Ben Affleck and fellow Argo producer Grant Heslov. (Jennifer Greylock/FilmMagic)
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During his Hollywood career, Clooney supported Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, and Hillary Clinton in the 2016 campaign.
Clooney said his 2017 film “Suburbicon” was inspired by the “angry” America that was Trump’s election campaign and victory.
“Many of us are angry – angry at ourselves, angry at where our country is going, angry at where the world is going,” he told reporters at the Venice Film Festival.
“The country is probably angrier than it has ever been since I’ve lived through Watergate,” Clooney added. “There’s a dark cloud hanging over the country right now.”
Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, Clooney said his film “Suburbicon” was inspired by an “angry” America after Trump’s election campaign and victory. (Stefania D’Alessandro/WireImage)
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The film tells the story of Damon and Julianne Moore, a married couple living in a typical 1950s all-white suburban neighborhood, who become enraged when a black family moves in.
The origins of the script [came when] I was watching a lot [Trump] “I looked back at the history of how, on the campaign trail, he built fences, he scapegoated minorities, and unfortunately, he has fallen back into this again, and I found this story that happened in Levittown, Pennsylvania,” Clooney said.
Clooney took a hiatus from Hollywood after Suburbicon and welcoming twins Amal, Ella and Alexander in 2017.
Clooney directed, produced, and starred in the film The Midnight Sky in 2020, and then directed and produced the film Tender Bar starring Ben Affleck in 2021.
Amal and George Clooney married in 2014 and welcomed twins, Ella and Alexander, in 2017. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
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The following year, he spoke about his involvement in politics in an interview with the BBC’s Andre Marr after endorsing Biden in 2020.
When asked if he’d be interested in running for public office in the future, Clooney replied, “No, because I’d rather live the good life.”
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“I turned 60 this year, so I talked to my wife about it. We both have busy careers and we have to look at this time as a period of peace,” he said. “In 20 years I’ll be 80, and that’s a real number. No matter how much I exercise, no matter what I eat, I’m going to be 80, so I said I have to enjoy this time as much as I can and live it in the best way possible.”
In 2021, Clooney said he had no interest in running for public office, saying, “No, because I really want to live a good life.” (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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Clooney has several projects lined up next year, including one with director Noah Baumbach.
He will also be making his Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of “Good Night, Good Luck,” scheduled for a spring 2025 run. The Hollywood Reporter.
