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Sylvester Stallone says he turned down Trump's Hollywood ambassador role

The actor learned of his appointment to the role from television, he told The Sunday Times.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Camera IconSylvester Stallone Credit: BANG - Entertainment News

What this story says

  • Sylvester Stallone claims Donald Trump appointed him a Hollywood Special Ambassador, a role he says he turned down.
  • Stallone stated he learned of the appointment by watching television, not through direct communication from Trump.
  • The actor told Trump the role was 'impossible' and that he said 'thank you and ciao'.
  • Donald Trump announced Stallone, Mel Gibson, and Jon Voight as Special Ambassadors to Hollywood in January 2025.

Who covered it

Left 63%(20)Centre 24%(8)Right 13%(4)

Percentages are shares of the 32 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 30 of the 62 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

41/100

62 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 4 of the 32 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Sylvester Stallone has stated that Donald Trump appointed him a Hollywood Special Ambassador, a position the actor claims he had already declined. Stallone said he learned of the appointment while watching television. He told Trump the role was 'impossible' and that he responded with 'thank you and ciao'.

Donald Trump announced Stallone, along with Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, as Special Ambassadors to Hollywood in January 2025. Trump posted on Truth Social at the time, stating these individuals would serve as his 'eyes and ears' to bring business back to Hollywood. He also criticised Hollywood and suggested federal tax incentives for film production.

Disagreement on direct communication

Sylvester Stallone told The Sunday Times that he learned of his appointment by watching television. The PerthNow report, quoting Stallone, states he was baffled by the president's announcement because he had already told him the idea wouldn't 'work'. Variety also reported Stallone saying, 'I was watching TV one night and they go, ‘So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be …’ And I went, ‘What?’'

What the coverage left out

None of the left, centre, or right-rated reports below mention the specific date in January 2025 when Donald Trump announced Stallone, Mel Gibson, and Jon Voight as Special Ambassadors to Hollywood. The full reports from PerthNow and Variety did not include this specific date either.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 21 Sept 2026, 22:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

2025 Getty Images / 2026 Getty Images
VarietyLeft

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

20 rated outlets

  • Eight left-rated reports led on Stallone's claim that he turned down the role. Variety, Hot News, Philly Voice, Telegrafi, OK! Magazine, TVA Nouvelles, Spiegel, and t-online all highlighted Stallone's statement that he told Trump the role was 'impossible' or that he declined the appointment. Variety and Philly Voice noted Stallone learned of the appointment via television. TVA Nouvelles and Le Journal de Quebec stated the actor believed the plan was doomed to failure. Spiegel reported that Trump named Stallone despite his rejection.

Centre

8 rated outlets

  • All eight centre-rated reports focused on Stallone's account of turning down the role. PerthNow, US Magazine, Digi 24, ComingSoon.net, Reality Tea, Mandatory, The Express Tribune, and FandomWire all reported that Stallone said he told Trump the role was 'impossible' or that he declined it. PerthNow, US Magazine, Digi 24, ComingSoon.net, Reality Tea, Mandatory, and The Express Tribune mentioned that Stallone learned of the appointment from television. FandomWire noted Stallone is a supporter of Donald Trump.

Right

4 rated outlets

  • Four right-rated reports focused on Stallone's account of declining the role. Globo and The News reported that Stallone learned of his appointment via television. TheMix.net and Le Figaro stated that Stallone told Trump the role would not work or that he said 'thank you and ciao'.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Sylvester Stallone says he turned down Trump's Hollywood ambassador role?
Of the 32 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 63% are rated left, 24% are rated centre, 13% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 62. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Sylvester Stallone says he turned down Trump's Hollywood ambassador role left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 32 rated outlets on this story, 63% are rated left, 24% are rated centre, 13% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Sylvester Stallone says he turned down Trump's Hollywood ambassador role biased?
Sylvester Stallone says he turned down Trump's Hollywood ambassador role is one event reported by 62 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Sylvester Stallone says he turned down Trump's Hollywood ambassador role?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Sylvester Stallone says he turned down Trump's Hollywood ambassador role?
62 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What role did Donald Trump supposedly offer Sylvester Stallone?
Donald Trump reportedly appointed Sylvester Stallone as a 'Special Ambassador to Hollywood'. Stallone claims he learned of this appointment from television and had previously told Trump the role was 'impossible'.
When did Donald Trump announce these appointments?
Donald Trump announced Stallone, Mel Gibson, and Jon Voight as Special Ambassadors to Hollywood in January 2025. He posted about the appointments on his Truth Social platform.
How did Sylvester Stallone react to the appointment?
Sylvester Stallone stated he learned of the appointment by watching television and told Trump the role was 'impossible'. He said his response to Trump was 'thank you and ciao'.

Read it at the source

62 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

20
Show 12 more

Centre

8

Right

4

Not rated

30
Show 22 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

Stallone on Trump ambassador role | MediaBias News