Comedian Amy Schumer added an edge of humor and political commentary, jokingly suggesting she would decamp to London or Spain if Donald Trump should become president in 2016. Chatting frankly in an interview with BBC News night, Schumer joked that a Trump win would force her to learn Spanish and leave the country as she could not even consider him winning Presidency.
The comedian said her remark was a piece of biting criticism aimed more at Trump’s candidacy and the divisive nature of this general election cycle. But as the election results came in, with Trump securing one state after another, Schumer’s joke became its own meme.
🚨BREAKING: Famous Comedian Amy Schumer says she will move to London if Trump is elected President
What’s your response? PIC.TWITTER.COM/JWET12NWCT
— Wake Up America (@_wake_up_USA) JUNE 27, 2024
After the surprise response, Schumer shared her statement on social media to drive home that she was joking and not being serious with what she said. Schumer countered her critics by coolly stressing how “disappointed” and desperate she is over Trump’s win.
“This was a joke. Serious about the moving “like what the fuck I am going to move,” she wrote on Instagram after her post mimicking so many others who’d taken up those sentiments. Munn emphasized how the election had affected her emotionally, and also for generations to come; of a niece expecting a baby (one of five Facebook friends on her feed with the same news this week), facing life in what would become an unconstructive political climate.
Schumer’s retort speaks to the visceral, divisive tenor of the 2016 campaign, when a swirl of pop culture accompanying politics could skirt on jokes and sincere criticism. While said in jest, her comments represented the righteous horror that so many felt on both a national and global level about Trump’s election.
But Schumer’s jokes about the president show that in an increasingly blurred line between celebrity influence and public discourse, stars continue to prove how they can not help but colorfully reflect societal sentiments on pop culture pages of a volatile chapter.
