Actor Richard Gere lashed out at President Donald Trump as a “bully” and a “thug” on Saturday, choosing an awards ceremony in Spain to deliver his insults before lamenting the U.S. is now in a “very dark place.”
The 75-year-old, who received an International Goya Award at Spain’s top film honours, warned further warned authoritarianism is on the rise “everywhere.”
“We’re in a very dark place in America, where we have a bully, a thug, who’s the president of the United States. But it’s not just in the US, it’s everywhere,” he said.
“Authoritarianism takes us all over.”
U.S. actor Richard Gere receives the International Award during the 39th Goya awards ceremony at the Granada Conference and Exhibition Center in Granada, on February 8, 2025. (CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images)
The caustic appraisals by the Pretty Woman and American Gigolo actor follow criticisms he made of Trump during a press conference in Granada on Friday, AFP reports.
During Saturday’s gala, Spanish actor Antonio Banderas presented Gere with the honorary award for “his extraordinary contribution to the art of filmmaking” and his social commitment to various causes, including the plight of refugees and the homeless.
During his speech, Philadelphia-born Gere warned of the “dark marriage” of power and money “like we’ve never seen before”.
“The fact that these irresponsible and perhaps dangerously corrosive billionaires are running everything in America right now is a danger for everyone on this planet,” he said.
