Veteran director Chris Columbus has admitted he is reluctant to remove Donald Trump’s cameo from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, citing fears of political retaliation that could include deportation.
The filmmaker, who is being honoured at this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival, expressed his concern during an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.
“It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone,” said Columbus. “If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of this country. I’ll be considered sort of not fit to live in the United States.”
Though born in America, Columbus, who has Italian heritage, joked that any attempt to erase the cameo might lead to him being sent “back to Italy or something.”
His comments come amid a wider pattern of aggressive actions by Donald Trump’s current administration toward critics, including journalists, scholars, and public figures.
Photo: 20th century Fox
The controversy surrounding the scene stems from Trump’s demand to appear in the 1992 sequel as a condition for allowing filming inside the Plaza Hotel, which he owned at the time.
Trump has accused Columbus of lying about the circumstances of the cameo, claiming the production “begged” him to participate. Columbus has firmly denied this, stating: “There’s no world I would ever beg a non-actor to be in a movie.”
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