Variety has extended their “Actors on Actors” series to Broadway, so “theater actors” are sitting down for one-on-one conversations too. They put George Clooney with Patti LuPone. LuPone is one of the greatest musical-theater actresses of all time – Clooney is an idiot with a bad dye job. Guess which one spoke more? You guessed it. Most of the conversation was about acting, how much the world has changed over the years, how much Clooney respects LuPone and more. They eventually talk about modern politics when Clooney brings up Elon Musk in the middle of a larger speech about “how we should all try to get along and find common ground with each other.” It’s pretty tough to find common ground with violent racists, misogynists and fascists who chose to vote for all of what’s happening, but sure. Here are the Clooney quotes getting the most attention:
Clooney on Elon Musk’s Nazi salute: “Now, people can look at Elon Musk doing his move and go, “That’s a Roman salute.” And maybe it is. We put it on a big screen, and we let you make your own decisions. Having said that, I will argue that when you retweet a statement that says that Hitler wasn’t responsible for the Holocaust — which he did — then maybe it is a Nazi salute. Maybe.
Clooney on how we’ll all be okay: “Well, the president of the United States sent some nice tweets. It’s funny because he’s just a New York beast. We’ve all known him for 30 years, and he was just a guy chasing women. But whatever. It’s fine. We’re going to get through it… I’m an optimist.
We’ve been in worse places as a country: “You’ve been around long enough to remember 1968. Every city in the United States was on fire. We’d lost Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. We were losing the greatest speakers we’d ever had. The Vietnam War was raging, the Tet offensive, everything that was going on at that time in our country. The president basically resigned because Walter Cronkite said that Vietnam is unwinnable. We’ve been in much worse places. The only thing that’s different is the source of information and how much and how many different sources. It’s the only thing that’s different. But it’s not nearly as violent, even though it feels violent. It’s not nearly as hopeless as it was at that moment in time. And we’ve done this before. From President Jackson to McCarthy to this, the authoritarian, the demagogue, it goes away when they go away. And he will go away. They don’t have anybody that’s as charismatic as him. He’s charismatic. There’s no taking that away from him. He’s a television star. But eventually we’ll find our better angels. We have every other time.
We’ll get the House back next year: “If you’re a Democrat, we have to find some people to represent us better, who have a sense of humor and who have a sense of purpose. I think we’ll get the House back in a year and a half, and I think that’ll be a check and balance on power.
“We’ve been in much worse places. The only thing that’s different is the source of information and how much and how many different sources. It’s the only thing that’s different.” This is completely false – while the 1960s and ‘70s were difficult times for America, absolutely, the federal government still functioned at a fundamental level. We still had checks and balances and politicians still had a moral center – Nixon resigned because the Republican Party turned against him. LBJ chose not to run for reelection in 1968 largely because his party turned against him too. This happy horses-t of “we’ll all be fine after this” is Clooney’s audacious white male privilege – Trump is already sending immigrants to concentration camps in El Salvador, and he’s threatening to do the same to American citizens. People have died in plane crashes because Musk fired thousands of air-traffic controllers and plane-safety people. We’re headed towards a global recession, if not depression, this f–king year because of Trump’s moronic economic policies. The Supreme Court has been overrun by Christofascist lunatics who have largely cosigned everything Trump does.
We are actually in a historically awful period in this country, and it’s largely because people like Clooney didn’t put any political value in Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or the Biden administration. It’s repugnant that Clooney had all of that sh-t to say about Joe Biden and yet when it comes to Trump, Clooney is all “They don’t have anybody that’s as charismatic as him. He’s charismatic!” STFU.
VSFKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKMKKKK pic.twitter.com/LVaEyhqUbO
— lou patti thinker (@_christienism) April 22, 2025
Screencaps courtesy of Variety’s video.
Ah George… you lost great credibility last summer with your damage to Joe and the Kamala and your praise of Trump. ( yeah the charisma of a fully evil being)
and it’s not coming back.
PS – . I’m surprised Patti didn’t rip you a new one. And maybe you and William can trade hair – facial or otherwise – secrets
I despise him.
Standing up to Joe Biden!!
And shutting up when nazi orange is in charge.
He wanted to elect a bro he liked and couldn’t get on board with a black woman candidate.
But he ended Biden’s presidential campaign using his influence.
Takes zero responsibility for the part he played in the chaos.
He and his wife beating pal brad can f** all the way off.
George is one of those people who should really just stick to acting.
His comments reek of white privilege and wealth. He’ll be fine. His family will be fine. Shitler is dismantling our government framework, tanking the economy and disappearing people George. Enjoy Lake Cuomo. Wtf.
This, exactly. Read the room, you tone-deaf mfkr.
This, this, this.
He’s not staying up at night worrying about people who are being disappeared, worrying what might happen to us all soon.
He can go f*ck himself.
Why did Ms. Lupone put up with this BS? I know she’s not that ignorant. Yes the country may get through this. But Clooney’s career sure won’t.
Clooney is dead to me.
Same, and how is his wife able to stomach this weird political stance of his?
I hope she divorces his sad, bad-dyed job ass.
Is he suggesting Kamala Harris didn’t have a sense of humor? Bc she did. Anyways, Patty Lupone’s response to Trump remains my favorite.
George shut the fuck up you have no fucking clue what we’re in for with this facist regime!!! We are screwed and you helped. Enough!!!!!!!
STFU George
Well. We have been in worst places, but it has been generations since we have been even close. It is just incomprehensible that Americans, who are blessed to live in a country of enormous beauty with abundant national resources and the poorest of which are still privileged by the standards of living in most places, would so willingly align with a nasty vulgar ignorant facist orange con man. Magats totally dependent on the New Deal and alive because of reformers that got them cleaner air, cleaner water, safer food and health care are somehow the enemy while oligarchs deserve to hoard all the wealth and make them worse off. The mentality is bizarre. The tangerine terror really will be remembered as a shit stain on history. Also. Randomly. I rarely go on YouTube because I hate to support google in any fashion, but went on a Patti LuPone deep dive after I saw this interview. My lord, she is an astonishing talent. I knew she was a Broadway actor, but remember her from the TV show Life Goes On. I didn’t realize the depth of her repertoire.
I hate him but agree on this one point.
Don’t forget the 1920’s that people are pretending was so liberating dealt with the resurgence of the KKK etc.
And don’t forget George W Bush and everything with that. Katrina, Abu Ghraib, Patriot Act. And Dick Cheney and Enron and Halliburton. If we’d had smartphones then our perception would be worlds different. We’re finally able to see it.
Of course none of this changes that he is an asshole who will be insulated from the consequences of his choices.
The difference now is that the world can see it. For those who once believed the American Dream was built on democratic meritocracy, that illusion no longer holds.
Yep.
Not that America has never done anything good but this place was built on the concept of “freedom” interpreted by slaveowning rapists, lol. People also need to open their eyes to what we have always been.
I think we were worse off in the 1930s. I hope to god we don’t get worse than that—it will be plenty bad enough. But having lived through GWB’s administration and hating him with all my being (and still do), I still think the orange dipshit is much worse than him. I never thought it would be possible yet here we are.
I used to like George Clooney but now he can F right on out of here. What he meant to say is that “he’ll” get through this, it’s questionable for the rest of us. Shut up George, go live in one of your other houses in some other country. As far as Trump being “a guy who chased women” he is a sex abuser you nitwit.
yeah he also dismissed Harvey Weinstein as just hearing rumors of women who went on dates with him to get acting roles.
He’s a piece of work. Living in his safe bubble.
Ok rich white man. You will be fine. Not sure about the rest of us.
Clooney will be fine on his European estate. People who live here full time not so much.
Heat of a thousand suns.
He and his box of Just for Men hair dye can F right off. This unbelievable gaslighting. Like he had nothing to do with helping Trump win is unbelievable. While he sits safe in his castle in Italy and nothing can touch him. While my mom had to figure out recipes with no eggs. Since they are still too expensive. On a fixed income.
Now I am worried about measles spreading and what’s next for us. Since the ant-vax crowd loves to drink the Kool-Aid. And Trump is already mulling over going for a 3rd term. JFC F U George Clooney.
Yikes …. his hair !
Is he living under a rock!!! He screwed up big time. I was a fan until he wrote that scathing take down article. He would have been well aware of Biden’s cognitive decline before hosting the multi- million dollar fundraiser a couple months prior. I’m not sure how the US will recover from the damage this POS is causing. Next time try a different strategy. You are not a chess player.
George Clooney is an insufferable asshole. I’m glad he’s lost his looks
I do not keep up with a lot of celebrity news so what is it with this George Clooney appearance? Makeup? Wig? Appliances for a role? He looks dreadful. I hope it’s over soon.
The bad dye job is for his role on Broadway as Edward R. Murrow. But it seems to have sucked the handsome right out of him. He’s suddenly massively unattractive. Or maybe it’s because we now see the real Clooney and it’s not a pretty sight.
Thanks for the info.
This is a more realistic picture of what’s happening.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/04/america-trump-authoritarianism-global/682528/?gift=FQhvoI63nhf1KmSwN6Yy5yj2nkHzbt1ejKjJA-Lf1UU&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
I don’t know how Patti LuPone, who is an undisputed queen, managed to stay silent through this bs. I would have clocked him. To say that 1968 was worse than now is ahistorical ignorance. The only Americans who have lived through anything approaching this catastrophe are Black Americans, especially those who lived through Jim Crow in the south. The rest of us have never imagined anything this horrific, much less lived it. As for Trump’s charisma, yeah, no, that’s not charisma. That’s the stench of evil and dirty diapers overwhelming people’s common sense. Charisma is all positive energy, in other words the polar opposite of the 🍊💩 stain.
I would add Native Americans, too.
This jerk again. And to say Trump is just a guy chasing women. Really? We should look the other way while they track autistic children because Trump is a NY beast and we’ll be okay? George seems out of touch with reality right now. Is the hair dye leaking into his brain? RFK should look into that.
Looks like the dismantling of American institutions and the further decline of the US. The worser angels are in power. I think Americans have to acknowledge that the current faction in power has also been very much a part of the fabric of their nation, and the fight against them has been insufficient. Hope the voices of the protestors get louder, and leaders emerge.
Who’s we? Because from where I stand he lives in Italy. He’s also white, male and rich. He & his brethren will be fine. The rest of us are going to suffer. He can miss me with this bullshit pr tour. He can truly F off forever.
The nonagenarian in my household is screaming. She says we were not in danger of losing our Constitution in 1968 and people were not disappearing off our streets. And she can’t stand the way he bobs his head to show he’s acting.
Clooney really believes his opinion on politics and social issues are so important like he’s a member of congress or something. Dude you’re an actor and celebrity (a pretty shitty one) at best. Just because your friends with Obama and Daddy is a Journalist does not mean you’re the spokesperson for Hollywood, Democrats, Americans or anyone else.
Yep. Clooney wants to take after his dad and be a voice of political reason. But reason has been kicked into the abyss—and this is a fight for survival. And this is proof once again that being rich can be one of the worst things for journalists/wannabe media figures. It screws up the moral compass, often beyond repair. Clooney was one of the industry’s savviest players, but I’m done with him as a fan.
I can’t imagine Amal being OK with this.
This is what about-ism derailment. 1968 was then, we have to deal with now. I don’t blame Patti for keeping relatively quiet. Best that Clooney shows his stupidity without any interruption.
Easy for him to say, he’s a billionaire who doesn’t have to worry about his retirement savings disappearing, not being able to afford rent/mortgage/food/health care. What an arrogant, tone-deaf asshole he’s become. Trump’s a freaking facist who’s hell-bent on wrecking the economy so his billioniare supporters continue to keep him in office while they all get richer and richer.
Yes, it’s all going to be fine for the rich people of the world. Whom I despise more and more each day.
I was alive in 1968 and he’s full of s. At that time our government wasn’t being taken over by a fascist president and Elon and his fascist cronies. Yes, the country was in turmoil in 1968 but the situation is so different today. He can take his ho-hum attitude and shove it.
George Clooney no doubt has a lot of economic expertise, and has milked millions from his movies, but he really doesn’t seem like the type of person who should be commenting here. Read the room, George. Your brilliance only goes so far. Just enjoying his money now.
He’s an actor and not a very good one at that.
Maybe George should go and talk to Tom Hanks who said the exact same thing after Trump was elected the first time. Tom eventually had to eat his words.
This guy’s glibbness -a rich white person living in another country, raising his children in another country- tone deaf choice. Glibb about the wife and child abuser good friend Brad. About trump a rapist in charge of an economy and people. Kamala wasn’t good enough for this Brad eff-er. George just wants someone with a sense of humor. Is that a joke george. Bc you suck at jokes. Kamala was the only politician who maintained a sense of humor but was never glibb. Biden who stood up for and with kamala is not good enough for this actor. this actor Democrat who wants to be a horse Democrat whisperer. How can someone who basically lives equal time to full time in another country keep giving his opinion.
Are you really a republican George? Bc no one who writes an op ed is this dumb. This is a bait and switch. I think George prefers Trump. Just a guy chasing women? Is that why you don’t go hard against Trump. Something very off about George.
Wealthy middle aged white guy gonna wealthy middle age white guy. You can stop now, George, ffs. I’m never supporting you again, you don’t have to keep selling me on the reasons why.
And the “sense of humor” thing makes me think that perhaps there was a time when a Senator Harris didn’t find him as hilarious and brilliant as he thinks he is. Fuck him and his shallow stupidity (he’s just *so dumb* and arrogant about it. No wonder he doesn’t mind the fascist fuckwits) and his cruel disregard for others.
When will Amal divorce this loser?