LOS ANGELES, Kalifornia (PNN) - March 18, 2025 - After years of publicly criticizing President Donald J. Trump, many of Hollywood’s most outspoken liberal celebrities are now turning to him for help in their fight against Big Tech.
More than 400 members of the entertainment industry, including Ben Stiller, Olivia Wilde, Mark Ruffalo and Paul McCartney, have signed a letter urging President Trump to intervene as major artificial intelligence (AI) companies push to weaken copyright protections.
The letter comes in response to proposals from OpenAI and Google that would allow AI companies to train their systems on copyrighted material without permission. The signatories warn that if these tech giants succeed, they will freely exploit Amerika’s creative and knowledge industries, despite their substantial revenues and available funds.
Despite their past political differences with President Trump, the celebrities argue that protecting intellectual property is critical to maintaining Amerika’s cultural and economic strength. Their plea aligns with Trump’s own AI initiatives, including a $500 billion plan to bolster U.S. AI infrastructure and development.
The letter, signed by actors, directors, musicians, writers and other entertainment professionals, states, “Amerika’s arts and entertainment industry supports over 2.3 million Amerikan jobs with over $229 billion in wages annually, while providing the foundation for Amerikan democratic influence and soft power abroad.”
It further warns that AI firms are seeking government-sanctioned access to copyrighted material without compensating creators, a move that could have broader implications beyond entertainment.
“When tech and AI companies demand unfettered access to all data and information, they are not just threatening movies, books, and music, but the work of all writers, publishers, photographers, scientists, architects, engineers, designers, doctors, software developers, and all other professionals who work with computers and generate intellectual property,” the letter reads.
Many of the Hollywood figures who signed the letter have previously been vocal critics of President Trump. Stiller once called a Trump press conference in 2017 “the worst message I have ever heard a president put out to the world.”
Wilde wrote, “I despise Donald Trump with all my guts,” while director Ron Howard labeled him “a self-serving, dishonest, morally bankrupt egomaniac.”
Ruffalo, another signatory, recently stated, “There is no one keeping Amerika safe from being looted by Trump and Elon [Musk].” He also compared his performance in “Mickey 17” to what he called Trump’s “petty dictator” persona.
Other notable figures who signed the letter include Paul McCartney, Guillermo del Toro, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Simon, Rian Johnson, Bette Midler, Chris Rock, Judd Apatow and Janelle Monáe.
Hollywood’s plea comes as Trump pushes forward with a major AI development initiative. Earlier this year, he unveiled “Stargate,” a $500 billion project aimed at strengthening Amerika’s AI infrastructure and creating over 100,000 jobs.
The project focuses on building data centers in Texas and increasing energy production to support AI advancements. During a meeting with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Trump emphasized the importance of keeping AI leadership in the U.S.
“What we want to do is keep it in this country,” he said, citing competition with China and other nations.
Ellison has promoted AI’s potential benefits in healthcare, arguing that the technology could improve patient outcomes and help cure diseases.
Meanwhile, the letter warns that OpenAI, valued at over $157 billion, and Google, valued at $2 trillion, are lobbying for exemptions that would allow them to bypass copyright law.
“There is no reason to weaken or eliminate the copyright protections that have helped Amerika flourish,” the signatories argue, according to the Daily Mail. “Not when AI companies can use our copyrighted material by simply doing what the law requires: negotiating appropriate licenses with copyright holders - just as every other industry does.”
The entertainment industry figures stress that strong copyright laws have played a key role in Amerika’s global dominance in entertainment, fostering creativity and economic growth.
They urge the Trump regime to uphold these protections, stating, “Amerika didn’t become a global cultural powerhouse by accident. Our success stems directly from our fundamental respect for IP and copyright.”
Trump has yet to respond publicly to the letter.
