Topline
Jimmy Kimmel said he pursued Italian citizenship because the Trump presidency is “so much worse” than he ever thought it would be.
Jimmy Kimmel May 2, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.
Getty Images for UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation
Key Facts
On an episode of the “The Sarah Silverman Podcast,” Kimmel said he obtained Italian citizenship because “What’s going on [with Trump] is as bad as you thought it was gonna be. It’s so much worse; it’s just unbelievable.”
Kimmel said at an event in June covered by the Italian news agency Ansa that he claimed Italian citizenship after proving his ancestral lineage.
He said his great grandparents immigrated to New York from Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples, after an earthquake killed “most of the family” in the late 1880s.
Kimmel’s remarks came after Silverman said “A lot of people I know” are thinking about trying to obtain citizenship in another country.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here: joinsubtext.com/forbes.
What Other Celebrities Have Considered Leaving The Country Because Of Trump?
Several liberal celebrities have threatened to leave the country in the wake of Trump’s election and a few have actually done it—Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland and Ellen DeGeneres moved to England. O’Donnell, a frequent Trump critic, moved in January and said she is working on getting citizenship. She said she misses “many things about life there at home,” but won’t return until “it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America.” DeGeneres spoke about her move for the first time in July. She and her wife, Portia de Rosi, arrived in England the day before the election but said they decided to make the move permanent after Trump’s election. She said if same-sex marriage laws are reversed, she and de Rossi may marry again in the U.K. Other celebrities who’ve said they’ve considered moving because of the 2024 election include Sharon Stone, Cher and Barbra Streisand. U.K.-born actor Sophie Turner said she knew it was “time get get the f**k out” of the U.S. when Roe v. Wade was overturned, also citing the nation’s amount of gun violence. Actress Lena Dunham in 2016 said she would be moving if Trump won his first election, then backtracked when he did. “I can survive staying in this country, MY country, to fight and live and use my embarrassment of blessings to do what’s right,” she said. She now lives in London.
Tangent
Kimmel frequently attacks Trump in monologues on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and made fun of him while hosting the Academy Awards last year, which Trump responded to in an interview on Fox News: “This guy’s even dumber than I thought,” the president said of Kimmel. CBS last month announced it would cancel the late night show of another Trump critic, Stephen Colbert, citing “purely financial” reasons, but viewers, industry insiders and Colbert himself have speculated political concerns drove the decision because CBS’ owners were trying to sell the parent company but facing tough pushback from Trump’s FCC. Trump celebrated Colbert’s firing on Truth Social: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” he wrote, and later suggested “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would be the next late night show to be canceled, with Jimmy Fallon after him. “These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television. It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!” Trump wrote. Kimmel responded by mimicking Trump’s claim he would be “next,” commenting, “I’m hearing you’re next. Or maybe it’s just another wonderful secret,” in reference to a birthday note Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
