Voight, Stallone and Gibson to serve role for Trump in Hollywood
President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson as his “eyes and ears” in Hollywood.
Straight Arrow News
Just one day after President Donald Trump announced plans to slap hefty tariffs on foreign-produced films, actor Jon Voight is taking (partial) credit.
Voight, a veteran of Hollywood and a close ally of Trump, posted a video to X on May 5 lauding the president’s proposal and decrying the effects of an entertainment industry that is increasingly moving overseas.
“My fellow Americans, and my peers in Hollywood, I recently met with our president, Donald J. Trump,” Voight said, in a video statement delivered in front of an American flag. He went on to say that Trump wants “to see Hollywood thrive and make films bigger and greater than ever before” and “see productions come back to American Hollywood.”
In a social media post on May 4, Trump announced that he had authorized his administration to levy a 100% tariff on movies produced outside of the U.S. because, as he put it, “the Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death.”
Voight echoed that sentiment, saying, “Our industry recently has suffered greatly over these past few years, and many Americans have lost jobs to productions that have gone overseas.
“After meeting with many of the entertainment leaders, I have brought forward recommendations to the president for certain tax provisions that can help the industry,” he continued. “Some provisions that could be extended and others that could be revived or instituted. This would help the movie and television production and our beloved theaters that are so important to the American family experience.”
It is unclear whether those exact tax provisions fit the bill for Trump’s 100% figure, a number which itself drew confusion within the industry as moviemakers wondered if it would be calculated based on production costs or box office revenue.
In a statement May 5, the White House appeared to walk back the proposal slightly, insisting “no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made” and that the administration was “exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again.”
Voight, who, along with fellow actors Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson was appointed as a “special ambassador” to Hollywood, seemed unfazed by the backlash, calling Trump “a great businessman” and “a caring person that will always do the right thing.”
Trump’s decision to target Hollywood is just the latest in a slew of tariffs his administration has announced in a claimed effort to bring certain industries back to the United States. The strategy has sparked an increasingly escalating trade war with China and a roller-coaster ride for stock prices.
In his social media post, the president called incentives used to bring filmmakers and studio productions to other countries “a National Security threat” and “propaganda,” and concluded by writing, “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”
Contributing: Zac Anderson, Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
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