Many of Hollywood's biggest stars have long-held and public opinions about President-elect Donald Trump, some having pledged to leave the United States if elected.
Although some have not followed up on this promise, actor Sharon Stone said in July that she would consider moving to Europe if Trump won, saying, "I am certainly considering a house in Italy."
At a film conference in Italy this week, the actor brought up the election again, with Fox News contributor and former judge Jeanine Pirro later suggesting the Basic Instinct actress had referred to Americans as "uneducated."
The Claim
During an episode of The Five on Fox News, broadcast on November 26, 2024, Jeanine Pirro said, "And as for Sharon Stone, she says Americans are ignorant because they don't travel.
"Eighty percent of Americans don't have a passport, they're uneducated, they're uninformed. Well, wait a minute...you're the one who wants to move to Italy. Number one, no one's stopping you. And number two, how about the fact that the new prime minister of Italy is more to the right than Donald Trump?
"So maybe you should move. So, you know what? These people think that they're heroes. They're not. They're just ordinary people who memorize lines for a living."
The Facts
Stone made remarks claiming that many Americans were uneducated, not all of them, as Pirro's comments may suggest.
During a press conference at the Torino Film Festival in Turin, Italy, Stone was asked about International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which fell on November 25, and said, "We have to stop and think about who we choose for government. And if, in fact, we are actually choosing our government or if the government is choosing itself."
"Italy has seen fascism," Stone further told the audience. "Italy has seen these things—you guys, you understand what happens. You have seen this before."
"My country is in its adolescence," Stone continued. "Adolescence is very arrogant. Adolescence thinks it knows everything. Adolescence is naive and ignorant and arrogant, and we are in our ignorant, arrogant adolescence."
Without directly naming Trump, Stone added: "We haven't seen this before in our country. So Americans who don't travel, who 80 percent don't have a passport, who are uneducated, are in their extraordinary naivete."
In her speech, Stone opined that "good men must help good men" while being aware that they could be friends with "dangerous, violent men."
The actor has said of Trump: "This is one of the first times in my life that I've actually seen anyone running for office on a platform of hate and oppression."
Although disparaging of many Americans in this speech, the suggestion that she was talking broadly about all her countrymen is not fair, given what she actually said.
Newsweek reached out to media representatives for Fox News and Sharon Stone via email for comment.
The Ruling
Needs Context.
Sharon Stone said at an Italian film festival, referring to Donald Trump's election victory, that many Americans "don't travel, who 80 percent don't have a passport, who are uneducated, are in their extraordinary naivete." Her comments were not about all Americans, as Pirro's comments arguably indicate.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
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