Sylvester Stallone Says He Turned Down Trump’s ‘Special Ambassador’ to Hollywood Role Because It Was ‘Impossible’: ‘I Said Thank You and Ciao’

Sylvester Stallone may hold the Trump-bestowed title of “special ambassador” to Hollywood, but nearly two years since his appointment, the “Rocky” actor has divulged that he didn’t explicitly sign up for the role. “Well, it just happened,” the Oscar nominee noted in a recent interview with The Sunday Times. “I was watching TV one night and they go, ‘So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be …’ And I went, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Excuse me? Really?’ Because if they had asked me in the beginning, I would have said, this is not possible.” The star continued to open up about his reservations surrounding the appointment, and if he was hesitant: “Yes, because Hollywood, I guess it’s like feudal states. They have their little kingdoms. You don’t go in and tell six studios how to do things. And Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, we’re kind of do-our-own-thing people.” Popular on Variety He even recalled telling Trump that “it won’t work.” “I said thank you and ciao, because it’s impossible. Hollywood works, and it will evolve. It’s corporate and corporate people won’t want to hear me tell them about finance.” Stallone, Gibson and Voight were first announced as “special ambassadors” by the current president in Jan. 2025 when he shared the following statement on Truth Social: “It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California. They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!” Despite Stallone’s initial feelings about the appointment, the actor still speaks fondly of Trump. In the interview, Stallone noted that he introduced the president-elect as a “mythical character” when at a party at Mar-a-Lago. “Nobody in the world could’ve pulled off what he pulled off, so I’m in awe,” he said.