'Home Alone' director wants Trump's cameo cut but fears deportation
What's the story
Chris Columbus, the director of the beloved 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, wants Donald Trump's cameo out of the movie.
Columbus described the US president's seven-second appearance in Home Alone 2 as a "curse" and an "albatross" in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.
However, he also expressed fears of deportation if he were to cut Trump's scene, referring to Trump's past comments on mass deportation.
Director's cut
Columbus's humorous take on the potential consequences
Columbus jokingly said that if he cut Trump's cameo, he'd probably be "not fit to live in the United States" and "have to go back to Italy or something."
The Italian-American director was born in Pennsylvania.
He remembered how Trump, who owned the Plaza Hotel at the time, had demanded to appear in the film.
Cameo controversy
Trump's insistence and the audience's reaction
Columbus revealed that Trump had insisted on being in the film if they were to use the Plaza Hotel for shooting.
He told Business Insider in 2020, "We paid the fee [to film at the Plaza], but [Trump] also said, 'The only way you can use the Plaza is if I'm in the movie.'"
Interestingly, when the film screened for the first time, audiences cheered seeing Trump on screen.
Fan petition
'Home Alone 2' fans have long requested removal
Since Trump's first presidency, fans of Home Alone 2 have been calling for his removal from the film.
Back in 2021, the movie's mischievous Kevin McCallister, Macaulay Culkin, had supported removing Trump's cameo.
Responding to a post on X (formerly Twitter) about digitally replacing Trump with a 40-year-old Culkin, he simply replied, "Sold."
He also responded "Bravo" to a post showing an edit of the Plaza scene with Trump replaced by empty space.
Trump's take
Trump has a different version of his cameo role
Meanwhile, Trump sees the cameo controversy a little differently.
In a 2023 Truth Social post, he said Columbus was "begging" him to appear in Home Alone 2.
He wrote, "I was very busy, and didn't want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent."
"That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success."
Trump called Columbus "just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity..."