Clooney fires back after US president mocks couple's French citizenship

George Clooney has lashed out at the US president, Donald Trump, for criticising France’s decision to grant the Hollywood actor and his family French citizenship.

- Sian Cain

The 64-year-old Oscar winner, his wife, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, and their two children became French citizens last month after living in southern France for years.

Clooney has hailed French privacy laws that have kept his family largely protected from media intrusion, as well as the opportunity to raise his children outside Hollywood.

Trump, whose administration has backed anti-immigration parties in Europe, wrote on Truth Social that France was welcome to the Ocean’s Eleven star, who is a long-term Democrat supporter, fundraiser and a vocal critic of the president.

“Good News! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time, have officially become citizens of France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration,” Trump wrote.

“Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies,” the president added. “He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics”