Trump Asked Me Out the Day I Got Divorced, Says Emma Thompson: ‘I Thought It Was a Joke’
The Oscar-winning British actress claims the then-leader of the free world invited her for a night on the town the very day her marriage officially ended, a proposal she politely turned down. Still, she quipped she might have been able to “change the course of American history” had she accepted.
According to The Telegraph, the image of Dame Emma Thompson, outspoken progressive, wooed by Donald Trump, thrillingly improbable, invites weary chuckles. Appearing at the Locarno Film Festival, the 66-year-old star recalled being in her trailer on the set of 1998’s Primary Colors, the sly political thriller based on the Bill Clinton campaign, when an unexpected voice crackled across the line.
“It was Donald Trump,” she recalled. “He said, ‘Hello, this is Donald Trump.’ I instinctively assumed it was a prank and replied, ‘How may I help you?’ I honestly wondered if he was lost and needed a landmark.”
“Then he said, ‘I’d love you to come and stay at one of my beautiful places. Maybe we could have dinner.’ I replied, ‘That’s very sweet. Thank you so much. I’ll get back to you.’”
At that moment, Mr. Trump had just separated from Marla Maples and had been busy building his property brand, adding now-famous towers to the New York skyline. Emma Thompson, having just announced her split from Kenneth Branagh, was starting a new chapter with her co-star Greg Wise, a union that would later lead to marriage.
At the film festival’s Q&A on her career, she wondered aloud why Mr. Trump reached out to her at that particular time.
“I figured out that the moment the divorce papers landed, that was the day,” Dame Emma said. “And I have no doubt he’s assigned people to find him the perfect new arm candy. You know the sort; a polished divorcee, that was the target.”
She laughed, “He must have gotten my number off the trailer. I mean, that’s textbook stalking.”
The actress, a lifelong Labour backer who tossed roses to Jeremy Corbyn when he was at the helm, told the festival that a dinner date with Trump would have been a different planet. “If I’d gone to dinner with Donald Trump, I’d have a corker of a story. I might have nudged the entire history of America off its path.”
Thompson has long been a tireless, no-filter campaigner for both human rights and the planet. She once lent her name to the now-vanished Women’s Equality Party.
When people grumble that her voice is a bit too loud, she retorts, “When a woman’s voice cuts the air, she’s just hitting the decibel level the moment demands.”
She wrapped her festival talk by admitting she’s still “stunned” that the fluffy Richard Curtis film Love Actually, where she spins magic with Alan Rickman, became a global earworm.
“I still can’t believe that film endured. It’s not that I dislike it—I like it a lot—but the fact it keeps resonating seems odd to me,” she admitted.
She was talking about the scene where her character learns her partner has cheated. She figured it struck a chord because “the heartbreak we go through, especially we women, we end up covering it up so no one sees how badly it hurts.”
Biography Of Emma Thompson.
Full Name: Dame Emma Thompson
Born: April 15, 1959, London, England (age 66)
Awards And Honors: Academy Award (1996) BAFTA (1995) Academy Award (1993) Academy Award (1996): Writing (Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published) Academy Award (1993): Actress in a Leading Role Emmy Award (1998): Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Golden Globe Award (1996): Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Golden Globe Award (1993): Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Notable Family Members: spouse Kenneth Branagh
Emma Thompson Married To: Kenneth Branagh (1989–1995) Greg Wise (2003–present)
