'I Said Thank You and Ciao': Sylvester Stallone Reveals Why He Refused Trump's Role

US President Donald Trump appointed Sylvester Stallone as a 'special Hollywood ambassador' in January 2025, but the 'Rocky' actor has revealed that he did not accept the role.

Stallone, along with Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, was named by Trump as one of his 'eyes and ears' in Hollywood. All three had been vocal supporters of the president.

While Gibson and Voight took on the role with enthusiasm, Stallone was sceptical about what he was expected to do with the responsibility and whether he even wanted it.

Stallone Says Trump's Plan To Revive Hollywood 'Won't Work'

When Trump announced the appointments of the three ambassadors on Truth Social in January 2025, Stallone was taken aback as it was the first he had heard of it.

'Well, it just happened. I was watching TV one night and they go, 'So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be ...' And I went, 'What?' I said, 'Excuse me? Really?' Because if they had asked me in the beginning, I would have said, this is not possible,' the actor explained.

Stallone's experience working in front of and behind the camera made him seriously question if Trump's initiative would yield any results. When asked if he had any reservations, he said: 'Yes. Yes, because Hollywood, I guess it's like feudal states. They have their little kingdoms. You don't go in and tell six studios how to do things. And Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, we're kind of do-our-own-thing people. No, it won't work.'

When asked if he explained his concerns to the president, he said: 'Yes, and I said thank you and ciao, because it's impossible. Hollywood works and it will evolve. It's corporate and corporate people won't want to hear me tell them about finance.'

Trump's push to revive Hollywood came after significant disruption to the film industry, including the coronavirus pandemic and the SAG-AFTRA strikes. The nonprofit organisation FilmLA reported that on-location production in the first quarter of 2025 decreased 22.4 per cent compared with the previous year.

Trump said Hollywood had 'lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries', while saying his ambassadors would be part of the effort to make the industry 'bigger, better, and stronger than ever before!'

Jon Voight And Mel Gibson Accept Trump's Role Despite Unclear Plans

While Stallone rejected the role, Jon Voight and Mel Gibson took different approaches to Trump's plan.

'I got the tweet at the same time as all of you and was just as surprised. Nevertheless, I heed the call. My duty as a citizen is to give any help and insight I can,' Gibson said.

After Voight was given the role, his business partner Steven Paul, producer and chair of SP Media Group, said he had been named Voight's special adviser in a press release.

'We will be working within the industry to find ways to bring runaway productions back to America while working with the government to explore a potential federal tax incentive tied to a pro-American cultural standard, among other initiatives that support independent American productions,' the release stated.

Despite their enthusiasm, it remained unclear what exactly the three ambassadors had been doing after they were appointed. The Los Angeles Times reported in April 2025 that people in Hollywood were still waiting to hear from the group.

Pamela Buzick Kim, co-founder of Stay In LA, a campaigning organisation working to boost local film and television production, told the Los Angeles Times: 'We have reached out to all three and never heard back.' She added that the lack of response prompted concerns that the ambassadors were just 'a bumper sticker'.

'Are they going to actually understand what the needs and issues are and fight for the industry as a whole here in the States?' Kim said.

Democratic Rep. Laura Friedman, who was also a former film producer, told the Los Angeles Times: 'I haven't heard of anyone having any outreach from anyone from that group. It doesn't seem like a serious effort to me.'