Kristen Stewart has expressed strong criticism towards Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on the movie industry, revealing her frustrations about not being able to “work freely” in the US anymore.
The actress, known for her role as Bella Swan in the Twilight saga, has shifted her focus to independent films, including her directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” which is set to premiere this February.
Having been raised in the entertainment world—her parents both work behind the scenes in Hollywood—Kristen has witnessed the industry’s evolution. She explained how Trump’s presidency has made the industry less viable.
In an interview with The Times, the 35-year-old actress shared that her upcoming film was shot in Latvia because filming it in the US would have been “impossible.”
“Reality is breaking completely under Trump,” Stewart remarked. “But we should take a page out of his book and create the reality we want to live in.”
Stewart also criticized Trump’s threat to impose high tariffs on movies produced outside the US, describing it as “terrifying.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed these tariffs were necessary because the movie-making business was being “stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries” and it was “DYING a very fast death.”
This suggestion, made in September, has yet to be implemented.
Currently, the star splits her time between Los Angeles and New York but confesses that this might change soon.
She told the publication she’s “probably not” going to stay in the US, adding, “I can’t work freely there. But I don’t want to give up completely.”
Instead, she plans to create films in Europe and hopes to make them widely available in the US. “I’d like to make movies in Europe and then shove them down the throat of the American people,” she said.
This isn’t the first time Stewart and Trump have had a public spat. Their history dates back to before Trump’s presidency.
Back in 2012, Stewart was caught in a widely publicized scandal while dating her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson. The controversy involved her affair with her then-married Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders.
Both Stewart and Sanders issued apologies, and Stewart’s relationship with Pattinson briefly ended before they reconciled later that year, only to part ways for good in 2013.
During the scandal, Trump—then a reality TV star—commented on the situation via Twitter. He advised Pattinson to break up with Stewart, alleging she “cheated on him like a dog.”
Trump continued to assert that Pattinson would be better off without her.
“Everyone knows I am right that Robert Pattinson should dump Kristen Stewart,” he tweeted, suggesting that Pattinson would “thank me” in the future.
Years after the incident, Stewart dismissed the episode as “weird,” expressing her confusion over Trump’s intense interest in her personal life.
Reflecting on the past in 2024, Stewart said Trump felt compelled to “weigh in on my tarring and feathering,” questioning, “What is this 20-year-old who has no idea about life doing to this man?”
“The Chronology of Water” will be available in theaters on Friday, February 6.