Jimmy Kimmel obtained Italian citizenship in case he needs to flee second Trump administration: 'It's so much worse'
If worse comes to worst, Jimmy Kimmel definitely has options.
The late-night host, who has been a vocal detractor of President Donald Trump throughout his first and second term in office, recently shared that if he ever needs out of the country, he already has an exit plan. While joining his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, on her podcast last week, the comedian discussed the drastic reaction that some have had to Trump's return to the White House.
"A lot of people I know are thinking about, where are they going to get citizenship?," Silverman observed.
"I did get Italian citizenship," Kimmel replied. "I do have that."
Addressing Trump's presidency, he continued, "What's going on is... as bad as you thought it was gonna be, it's so much worse. It's just unbelievable. I feel like it's probably even worse than [Trump] would like it to be."
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, Kimmel secured Italian citizenship earlier this year after proving his ancestral lineage (his maternal great-grandparents emigrated to New York from Naples after an 1883 earthquake devastated their hometown, Ischia). Should he actually put that citizenship to use by relocating to Italy, Kimmel would join a growing list of celebs who have opted not to live in the U.S. now that Trump is back in office.
Rosie O'Donnell, who famously has an acrimonious relationship with the president, revealed earlier this year that she fled the country for Ireland ahead of Trump's inauguration.
"I knew after reading Project 2025 that if Trump got in, it was time for me and my non-binary child to leave the country," she told CNN in April. "It's as bad as they promised and even a little bit worse, and it's been heartbreaking and personally very sad to watch."
Trump has since threatened to revoke O'Donnell's citizenship. (According to a Harvard analysis, Trump has no constitutional authority to do so.)
In addition to O'Donnell, former daytime host Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi have relocated to the U.K. countryside. "We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis," DeGeneres revealed in July. "And we're like, 'We're staying here.'"
Much like O'Donnell, Kimmel's tendency to question and bash the President have not gone unnoticed. Following news that CBS would be axing The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Trump boasted that Kimmel would be next on the chopping block.
"The word is, and it's a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone,' Trump wrote on TruthSocial last month. "These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television. It's really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!"Kimmel responded to Trump on Instagram: "I'm hearing you're next. Or maybe it's just another wonderful secret," he wrote, referencing a Wall Street Journal story, published July 17, which claims Trump sent a letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 that was included in a birthday album of well-wishes.
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