Kristen Stewart said she is considering leaving the United States because of President Trump, telling The New York Times that she is building her directing career around working in Europe, where she believes she can create films more freely.
The “Twilight” actress shot her directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” in Latvia as “it would have been impossible to do in the States.” Stewart added that Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on movies made abroad is “terrifying” for the film industry.
“Reality is breaking completely under Trump,” she said. “But we should take a page out of his book and create the reality we want to live in.”
Stewart also admitted that she’s “probably not” going to live in the U.S. for much longer.
“I can’t work freely there,” Stewart said. “But I don’t want to give up completely. I’d like to make movies in Europe and then shove them down the throat of the American people.”
President Trump announced last September that he would like to impose a 100% tariff on films made outside the United States.
“Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’ California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit!” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never-ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office responded with a statement on X: “The Governor tried to explain this to Trump months ago — when this was initially proposed — that his actions will cause irreparable damage to the U.S. film industry. Today’s move is 100% stupid.”
CIAO, BELLA: ‘Twilight’ star Kristen Stewart is eyeing a move out of the United States due to President Trump’s America-first film industry policies.
The star says she’s planning to make more movies in Europe because she “can’t work freely” in America. pic.twitter.com/SnLdkGJ2lX
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 26, 2026
Stewart has faced years of delays getting the project off the ground since announcing it in 2018 at the Cannes Film Festival, later telling Porter Magazine in 2024 that she planned to shoot in Latvia, citing the need for creative distance and a more “student film” approach she felt she couldn’t achieve in the U.S. Her fraught history with President Trump dates back over a decade to her highly publicized cheating scandal while dating Robert Pattinson, involving her married Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders.
Trump posted a string of tweets at the time, including, “Robert Pattinson should not take back Kristen Stewart. She cheated on him like a dog & will do it again — just watch. He can do much better!”
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