Hollywood celebrities took a break from calling President Donald Trump a fascist, a con man, mass murderer, and a dictator to sign a letter begging his administration to help them combat artificial intelligence. The letter, signed by more than 400 members of the entertainment industry, asked the administration to refrain from rolling back copyright protections they say would allow AI companies to “exploit” their work.
“We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries,” hundreds of Hollywood members said in a letter to Trump’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, according to a report by Variety.
To name a few of the smears celebrities have hurled at Trump: Hollywood film director Judd Apatow, known for The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman, and Talladega Nights, has called President Trump a “mass murderer.” Actor Mark Ruffalo, just this week claimed President Trump is “march[ing] to dictatorship.” Actor Ben Stiller, who in 2021 reacted to Trump getting banned from social media platforms saying the president’s so-called “divisive rhetoric” has “real-life consequences.” Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt called Trump a “con man.” Bette Midler wished for someone to “shiv” or “stab” Trump. They, along with also signed off on the letter begging the Trump administration to hear their plea.
Moreover, Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black star Natasha Lyonne, who just the other weekend went on a bizarre rant about a looming danger for American minorities and an alleged “death toll” in the U.S. under Trump, also signed the letter pleading with his administration for help.
The letter went on to claim, “AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music, and voices used to train AI models at the core of multi-billion dollar corporate valuations.”
Hollywood’s letter was sent in response to OpenAI and Google recently asserting to the Office of Science and Technology Policy that U.S. copyright law should allow AI companies to train their systems on copyrighted material without first being granted permission.
The letter accuses Google and OpenAI of “arguing for a special government exemption so they can freely exploit America’s creative and knowledge industries, despite their substantial revenues and available funds.”
“There is no reason to weaken or eliminate the copyright protections that have helped America flourish,” the letter — which was also signed by Bette Midler, who has spent years incessantly attacking President Trump and his supporters — adds.
The Hollywood figures also lamented AI companies “threatening movies, books, and music,” as well as a slew of other professionals in their industry, with its demands for “unfettered access to all data and information.”
“These professions are the core of how we discover, learn, and share knowledge as a society and as a nation,” the letter — which was also signed by Hollywood director Ava DuVernay, who has spent years disparaging President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump — read.
In their letter, Hollywood members amusingly took a break from calling the U.S. a fascist dictatorship to remind the Trump administration that America is actually “a global cultural powerhouse” that has become successful due to “our fundamental respect for IP and copyright that rewards creative risk-taking by talented and hardworking Americans.”
“We recommend that the American AI Action Plan uphold existing copyright frameworks to maintain the strength of America’s creative and knowledge industries, as well as American cultural influence abroad,” Hollywood concluded in its letter to the Trump administration.
Singers Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, and Kim Gordon, as well as actresses Cynthia Erivo, Cate Blanchett, Aubrey Plaza, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Olivia Wilde, Lily Gladstone, Brit Marling, and Michaela Coel also signed the letter.
Directors Judd Apatow, Guillermo del Toro, Cord Jefferson, Ángel Manuel Soto, Ron Howard, and Sam Mendes, as well as actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taika Waititi, and Showtime’s Billions star Paul Giamatti were also signatories.
Additional signees included comedian Chris Rock, singer Janelle Monáe, and filmmakers Bryn Mooser, Rian Johnson, and Alfonso Cuaron.
FX’s The Bear star Ayo Edebiri — who just last week called Elon Musk, the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an “idiot” and a “fascist” — also signed the letter asking the Trump administration for help.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
