On November 11, 2024, a member of the “People’s Power” party David Kartvelishvili, Russian writer and journalist Marina Akhmedova, as well as Thread account published a post regarding Tom Hanks and other Hollywood stars, claiming that they had fled the USA after Trump won the elections.
The claim that Tom Hanks and other Hollywood stars left the US after Trump won the elections is false. There is no credible source supporting this information. Some celebrities made such statements during Trump’s first term or in recent years but ultimately did not follow through.
According to posts, except for Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Rob Reiner, Barbra Streisand, Megan Rapinoe, Amy Schumer, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Jane Fonda, Madonna , Mark Ruffalo, Kim Kardashian, Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, Miley Cyrus, Travis Kelce, Bobby Olthoff, Rashida Talib, Stormy Daniels, Diddy, Eminem, Ellen DeGeneres, Sean Penn, Sharon Stone, Ashley Judd, Bryan Cranston, Billie Joe Armstrong have decided to flee the US.
Hanks is known for being an outspoken critic of Trump since his first term as president, but there is no evidence he left the U.S. or made such an announcement. Hanks has maintained a presence in the U.S throughout the Trump administration and has not publicly declared his departure from the country. Similarly, there is no evidence that other Hollywood stars had fled the U.S.A for the same reason.
Newsweek’s fact-checking service debunked the story recently, finding that most of the claims were wrong and others were missing valuable context.
Most of the celebrities did not claim that they would leave the US if Trump was selected, among those who made this statement, did not follow through. For example, in 2016, several prominent figures, such as Miley Cyrus and Lena Dunham, expressed frustration and said they might leave the U.S. if Trump won, but none of them followed through on those statements and remained in the country.
For instance, Whoopi Goldberg was quoted saying in March 2016, that he is leaving the country. Later she explained her statement:
“We’re allowed to protest. We’re allowed to stand up and say we disagree. Whether we agree or not, it’s OK. But you don’t get to tell me that I’m going. You don’t get to make that decision for me. I’m staying!”- Whoopi Goldberg.
Barbra Streisand stated in November 2023 that she might move to England, but ultimately did not follow through. Similarly, Amy Schumer and Bryan Cranston considered moving from the USA before the 2016 election. In October 2020, Bruce Springsteen declared he would move as far as Australia if Democratic nominee Joe Biden did not win. Tommy Lee made a statement about moving in 2020 too. None of the celebrities actually left the country.
Many of the names on the list, such as Swift, Kelce, Hanks, Fonda, Penn, and Eminem, never made such statements.
We were unable to find any more public statements from the other celebrities mentioned who said they would leave the U.S. if Trump were elected president.
Nurlana Hajiyeva
Myth Detector Laboratory
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