Hollywood star Angelina Jolie said that she does not recognize the United States anymore and warned about threats to free speech.
The 50-year-old “Maleficent” actress made the remarks during promotional events for her new film Couture at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain.
She cautioned that “anything, anywhere that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms, I think, is very dangerous.”
Angelina Jolie: “I love my country, but I don’t at this time recognize my country. Anything, anywhere that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms from anyone I think is very dangerous” pic.twitter.com/86Uyl3BETP
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) September 22, 2025
Turning her attention to the current political atmosphere in America, Jolie called the present moment “very, very heavy times.”
“I have to say that I love my country and I don’t, at this time, recognize my country,” she told reporters.
The actress connected her perspective to her international lifestyle and the children she adopted abroad.
“I’ve always lived internationally. My family is international,” she stated, referencing her adopted children from Namibia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Cambodia. “My life, my world view, is equal [and] united.”
The Academy Award winner noted she would remain cautious with her words in the public setting.
“These are such serious times that we have to be careful not to say things casually,” she remarked. “So I’ll be careful in a press conference… But these are very, very heavy times.”
Jolie’s history in global affairs stretches back decades. She first began working with the United Nations refugee agency in 2001, ultimately becoming a special envoy in 2012 and continuing in that capacity until 2022.
Her long-term involvement brought her face-to-face with governments around the world.
By 2018, speculation grew over her political ambitions after she teased the possibility, admitting, “I don’t know if I’m fit for politics … but then I’ve also joked that I don’t know if I have a skeleton left in my closet.”
She reflected on her history of working with organizations across the world as a special envoy.
“I’m also able to work with governments,” she commented at the time. “So I sit in a very interesting place of being able to get a lot done, without a title and without it being about myself or my policies.”
Jolie became more active in Washington policy discussions as well. In 2021, she appeared at the White House to support the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
The powerful words of Angelina Jolie during the U.S. Violence Against Women Act press conference on February 9, 2022, summed up the helplessness that so many women throughout the U.S. & world feel when they are failed by the systems that claim to protect them and their children.… pic.twitter.com/zLliFpNuR0
— Peaceful Futures (@peace_futures) January 15, 2025
Two years later, she was photographed alongside her son Maddox during a state dinner honoring the South Korean president.
Her political positions have often conflicted with the agenda of President Donald Trump.
During his first term, Jolie authored an opinion column in The New York Times pushing back against his refugee and immigration policies.
Angelina Jolie and Maddox Jolie-Pitt arrive for the State Dinner with President Joe Biden and the South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Washington. pic.twitter.com/3b2pi4x4tC
— ✨Raquel & her Minions✨ (@THENAGODOFWAR) April 27, 2023
“We must never allow our values to become the collateral damage of a search for greater security,” she wrote, cautioning against border restrictions.
She also declared, “Shutting our door to refugees or discriminating among them is not our way, and does not make us safer.”
In the same piece, she acknowledged security threats, pointing out, “The global refugee crisis and the threat from terrorism make it entirely justifiable that we consider how best to secure our borders.”
“Every government must balance the needs of its citizens with its international responsibilities,” she noted. “But our response must be measured and should be based on facts, not fear.”
Jolie even went as far as to claim, “It is simply not true that our borders are overrun or that refugees are admitted to the United States without close scrutiny.”
While Jolie took aim at Trump, her father, Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight, consistently stood by the president.
Known as one of Trump’s most vocal Hollywood supporters, Voight received the National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal from Trump during his first presidency.
The president also named Voight a “special ambassador” to Hollywood along with actors Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone.
Voight’s relationship with his daughter has been strained for decades. Jolie dropped “Voight” from her name in 2002 after years of estrangement stemming from her parents’ split following reports of her father’s infidelity.
Their political differences have only seemed to deepen the divide. Voight publicly criticized Jolie’s advocacy for Palestine.
“She has been exposed to propaganda. She’s been influenced by antisemitic people,” he stated.
“Angie has a connection to the UN, and she’s enjoyed speaking out for refugees. But these people are not refugees.”
The generational and political contrast was once again evident earlier this year when President Trump posted about his plan to impose a 100% tax on foreign films, warning that the “Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death.”
Voight quickly came to his defense, telling Variety, “It’s come to a point where we really do need help, and thank God the president cares about Hollywood and movies.”
He insisted that Trump’s affection for the entertainment industry was genuine.
“He has a great love for Hollywood in that way. We’ve got to roll up our sleeves here. We can’t let it go down the drain like Detroit,” Voight said.
He also commented that Trump has “been treated unfairly” and drew parallels to his own career struggles.
“I think I have too. But what’s the difference? Who cares? I mean, there’s been a battle, but now it’s time to put that aside,” he remarked.
“And I must say, in all of the interactions we’ve had [on addressing runaway production], politics has never come up. Never.”
Voight expanded on his support for the president in a video released online, where he explained his role in shaping Trump’s new policy on tariffs for film production.
“My fellow Americans and my peers of Hollywood, I recently met with our president, Donald J. Trump, who loves the entertainment business,” Voight stated in the clip.
The message was shared on X with the caption, “Plan to rescue Hollywood.”
In the video, Voight described Trump’s ambitions for the American movie industry.
He said Trump wanted to see Hollywood “make films bigger and greater than ever before” and revive production inside the United States.
“The Hollywood that I fell in love with when I was a child, and was honored to contribute to during my career,” he recalled.
Voight detailed the hardships the industry has endured in recent years. “It’s been very serious,” he explained. “People have… people have lost their homes. Can’t feed their families.”
Plan to rescue Hollywood pic.twitter.com/VPq9McMG7b
— Jon Voight (@jonvoight) May 6, 2025
He revealed that he had met with leaders in the entertainment world and offered Trump specific recommendations regarding tax provisions to keep jobs in America.
Some of those measures, he suggested, “could be extended,” while others “could be revived or instituted.”
The veteran actor described the potential benefits of these reforms. “This would help the movie and television production and our beloved theaters that are so important to the American family experience,” he said.
Voight ended his remarks with effusive praise for Trump, calling him both a “friend” and the “greatest president since Abraham Lincoln.”