BS BULLETIN:
- Sylvester Stallone says he learned from television that President Trump had named him a special ambassador to Hollywood.
- Stallone says he essentially declined, telling Trump the idea was “impossible” because Hollywood’s studios operate like separate kingdoms.
- Jon Voight took a different route and has been working with the White House on proposals aimed at bringing film and television production back to the U.S.
Sylvester Stallone apparently found out he had landed a new government-adjacent gig the same way everybody else did: watching television.
Stallone says President Donald Trump did not ask him beforehand when Trump announced in January 2025 that Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight would become his special ambassadors to Hollywood.
“Well, it just happened,” Stallone recalled in a recent interview with The Sunday Times.
He said he was watching television when he heard that Stallone, Gibson and Voight had been selected.
His reaction?
“What?”
Stallone said that had he been asked beforehand, he would have told Trump the assignment was “not possible.”
Trump announced the three actors as his Hollywood “eyes and ears,” saying their mission would be to help bring film and television production back to the United States after business had moved overseas.
But Stallone viewed Hollywood as a collection of entrenched power centers rather than one industry that three famous actors could simply reorganize.
“Hollywood, I guess it’s like feudal states,” he said, describing studios as their own “little kingdoms.”
Stallone said he eventually explained his position directly to Trump.
“I said thank you and ciao, because it’s impossible,” he recalled.
His point was practical: Hollywood is corporate, and studio executives weren’t going to take financial instructions from Sylvester Stallone.
There apparently were no hard feelings.
Stallone has remained friendly with Trump and had previously lavished praise on him after the 2024 election, at one point comparing him to George Washington. Trump later named Stallone among the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees.
And while Stallone may have headed for the exit, Voight did not.
Voight has met with the White House and worked with his team on proposals for a federal film and television production incentive. Trump backed the idea last month and called on Republicans and Democrats in Congress to craft legislation aimed at keeping entertainment production in America.
Voight’s manager also says Stallone hasn’t been entirely absent: Stallone signed onto a letter supporting their efforts.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Fox News — Stallone reveals what he told Trump about Hollywood ambassador role
- Entertainment Weekly — Stallone says he told Trump “thank you and ciao”
- Page Six — Stallone reveals surprise over Trump appointment
- Fox News — Trump and Voight push federal Hollywood production incentive
