II’m not some kind of secret reform voter, okay? As a Brit (albeit a Brit abroad), I have no problem with rich immigrants coming to Britain and taking over all our mansions. I just think they should really integrate and not bring their funny foreign ideas with them.
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, I’m talking to you. The California couple came to Britain just before Donald Trump won the election last year. As soon as the votes were cast, he announced that he was not going back, and would remain on the safe side of the Atlantic. I’m not sure how immigration logistics work, but it seems like “one in, one out” schemes don’t apply to people arriving on big jets, only small boats. The pair bought a fancy pad in the Cotswolds and DeGeneres angered locals by declaring “everything is better here” during a public appearance in July.
It’s easy to stay upbeat during the British summer, when everything is green and pleasant. However, now that the winter gloom has set in, rumor has it that fair-weather Brits are planning a return to Trumpland. According to the Mail on Sunday (so take all this with a pinch of salt), the couple miss their friends and can’t bear the thought of another British winter. I understand that you’re homesick, but if you run away from rapidly spreading fascism and go straight back to it because you’re not used to being a little cool, you lose your street cred. As my mother used to say: Just put on another jumper, Ellen! Give up your weird American ideas about how the sky should be blue.
DeGeneres and De Rossi aren’t the only celebrities who are apparently reconsidering how opposed they are to living under Trump. Since Trump burst onto the political scene, Hollywood has been like an airport lounge: Lots of people announcing his imminent departure. But only a few people have followed it. For example, in 2016, comedian Amy Schumer told Newsnight that she would “move to Spain or somewhere else” if Trump won the election. He later explained that it was “said in jest” and, to be fair, it can be difficult to know when Schumer is trying to be funny.
Miley Cyrus even pulled out the “just kidding” card to explain why her transfer plans changed. In March 2016 she announced that she would step down if Trump became president, adding: “I don’t say things I don’t mean!” Cyrus later clarified that she actually said things she didn’t mean. Meanwhile, Barbra Streisand threatened to quit before both the 2016 and 2024 elections, but still has made no move.
However, there are a handful of American celebrities who have actually fled and have no plans to return. In March Courtney Love, who has lived in London since about 2019, said she was planning to obtain her British citizenship. Although this does not seem to be entirely due to Trump 2.0, he called the political situation in the US “appalling”.
Around the same time, comedian Rosie O’Donnell revealed that she had moved her family to Ireland, citing concerns for her non-binary child Clay. “When you know it is safe for all citizens in America to have equal rights, only then will we consider coming back,” he said in a TikTok video. While it’s easy to mock self-exiled celebrities — many of whom have their wealth untouched by the effects of Trumpism — O’Donnell was probably wise to leave. The comedian has had a long-running feud with Trump and earlier this year, the president said he was considering stripping him of his US citizenship. He may not be legally able to do so, but when a person with cult-like ideology is calling you in a country with increasing political violence, it is natural to be concerned for your personal safety.
There may not be a mass celebrity exodus yet, but it seems like America is experiencing a brain drain because of Trump. A survey by the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the US are considering leaving; International students also seem to be losing interest in venturing into the States. Meanwhile, some experts on authoritarianism are seeing the writing on the wall and packing their bags. “We Study Fascism, and We’re Leaving America,” read the title of a video op-ed three Yale professors made for The New York Times earlier this year before leaving for Canada. Truly a hair-raising message. But nothing compares to the damp winter of the Cotswolds.
Arwa Mahdavi is a Guardian columnist
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