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George Clooney Blasts Trump And The Myth Of The 'Hollywood Elite'

"This idea that I'm somehow the 'Hollywood elite' and this guy who takes a s**t in a gold toilet is somehow the man of the people is laughable."
George Clooney attending a photo call at the Toronto International Film Festival for his movie 'Suburbicon'.
AFP/Getty Images
George Clooney attending a photo call at the Toronto International Film Festival for his movie 'Suburbicon'.

George Clooney is a superstar, but he's got absolutely no time for anyone who thinks that makes him out of touch. Leading up to the release of his new movie, Clooney had some very choice words for anyone who thinks he's somehow living in a bubble.

Clooney's latest film, 'Suburbicon' stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac. The film is set in a '50s town called Suburbicon, based loosely on Levittown, where racial tensions begin to boil over into a full race riot after a black family moves in.

On the other side of the street a seemingly everyday white couple are scheming and murdering without raising much of an eyebrow from their rioting neighbourhood.

In an interview with 'The Daily Beast', Clooney didn't hold back when it came to the film's parallels to recent events like the Charlottesville riots, as well as the role of satire in criticising U.S. President Donald Trump.

But nothing riled Clooney up more than the mention of Trump's use of "Hollywood elite" as a pejorative term.

"I grew up in Kentucky," he explained, "I sold insurance door-to-door. I sold ladies' shoes. I worked at an all-night liquor store".

"I would buy suits that were too big and too long and cut the bottom of the pants off to make ties so I'd have a tie to go on job interviews. I grew up understanding what it was like to not have health insurance for eight years. So this idea that I'm somehow the 'Hollywood elite' and this guy who takes a s**t in a gold toilet is somehow the man of the people is laughable."

Clooney didn't really become a household name until he was about 33, when he played Dr. Doug Ross on NBC's 'ER'. Prior to that he picked up bit parts and guest roles on sitcoms and dramas.

"People in Hollywood, for the most part, are people from the Midwest who moved to Hollywood to have a career. So this idea of 'coastal elites' living in a bubble is ridiculous."

Despite starting out as an actor, Clooney made the seamless jump to producing, writing and directing features blending his Hollywood charm with his political activism.

"When you direct a film you have seven different unions all wanting different things, you have to find consensus with all of them, and you have to get them moving in the same direction. He's never had to do any of that kind of stuff.

"I just look at it and I laugh when I see him say 'Hollywood elite'. Hollywood elite? I don't have a star on Hollywood Boulevard, Donald Trump has a star on Hollywood Boulevard! F**k you!"

'Suburbicon' is scheduled to release in cinemas from October 26.

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