George Clooney slams Trump White House's 'infantile name-calling'

Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY Thu, April 9, 2026 at 5:50 PM UTC

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George Clooney is slamming the Trump administration, after the White House criticized his acting over comments about the Iran war.

Clooney, in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, April 8, dismissed the Trump administration's "infantile name-calling" while "families are losing their loved ones" and "children have been incinerated."

"The world's economy is on a knife's edge. This is a time for vigorous debate at the highest levels," the actor, 64, told the outlet. "I'll start. A war crime is alleged 'when there is intent to physically destroy a nation,' as defined by the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute. What is the administration's defense? [besides calling me a failed actor which I happily agree with having starred in 'Batman and Robin'?]." (The 1997 film, in which Clooney plays Bruce Wayne, is considered one of the worst films ever made.)

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USA TODAY has reached out to Clooney's reps and the White House for comment.

The comments come after a back-and-forth of sorts between the Trump administration and the "Jay Kelly" actor coming out of the Iran war. President Donald Trump's Truth Social post threatening that "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" amid the war spawned widespread criticism, calls for impeachment and concern that his threats would constitute war crimes.

A day later, Clooney, speaking in front of 2,700 students in Cuneo, Italy, said, "If someone says he wants to end civilization, that's a crime," according to the Italian outlet ANSA. "This is not a great moment in American history."

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White House communications director Steven Cheung responded with a dig later Wednesday, writing on X that "the only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability."

President Trump's ceasefire with Iran is on tenuous ground as of Thursday, after Israel launched its deadliest wave of strikes on Lebanon since the war began and Tehran vowed not to desert its allies.

US-Iran ceasefire on tenuous ground; Trump issues warning. Live updates

A day after announcing the Iran war ceasefire, Trump took to social media to warn the country that if the "REAL AGREEMENT" was not complied with, the U.S. would respond with "bigger, better, and stronger" attacks.

The threat comes amid deep confusion over whether the two-week ceasefire agreement extends to Lebanon, where health officials say more than 200 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday. The U.S. and Israel maintain that Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire; Iran and Pakistan, which has been involved in negotiations, said the temporary truce includes Lebanon.

Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Christopher Cann and Michael Loria, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clooney slams Trump admin after acting criticism, 'war crime' comments

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