Oscar-winning American actor Michael Douglas, who has owned a property in Valldemossa, Mallorca, for over 30 years, said on Tuesday that he is ‘ashamed’ of his country and apologised for the ‘global chaos’ caused by US President Donald Trump during an event at the Taormina Film Festival on the east coast of Sicily (southern Italy).
‘I understand that much of the responsibility for the global chaos comes from my country. I am ashamed of my country and I apologise. I apologise and I am ashamed in front of my friends, I apologise to my neighbours in Canada and Mexico, but also to the countries of the European Union and NATO,’ he said.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor responded in this way when asked about the current wars and the role of the United States in international conflicts during a master class at the festival, according to local media. ‘I was born in 1944, at the end of the Second World War, but this is the worst period I can remember in my life,’ added the winner of two Oscars, four Golden Globes, a Bafta and an Emmy, and son of the legendary Kirk Douglas.
The star of such famous films as Wall Street, Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct, among many others, expressed his concern about defence spending: ‘I don’t like to see military budgets increasing everywhere, especially in my country, which insists on asking others to increase theirs.’
‘I find it hard to understand, with all the artificial intelligence we have today, how we can continue to have so many wars and conflicts. It’s ridiculous,’ concluded the actor, who on Tuesday received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Taormina Film Festival in the ancient Roman theatre of the Sicilian city.
In addition to political criticism, Michael Douglas expressed his concern about the widespread increase in defense spending. 'I do not like to see how military budgets are increasing everywhere, especially in my country, which insists on asking others to increase theirs,' he noted.
This reference to Washington's demands on its NATO allies takes on particular significance in the current climate of international tension, where rearmament and militarization are once again at the center of strategic debates.
Douglas took advantage of the European context of the event to deliver a broader message, transcending cinema to address the paradox of technological advancement in a world still marked by violence. 'I find it hard to understand, with all the artificial intelligence we have today, how we can still have so many wars and conflicts. It’s ridiculous.', he stated.