Full list of celebrities moving abroad after Donald Trump’s win

Donald Trump’s presidential election win over Kamala Harris has sparked ire among a host of celebrities, with some going as far as to declare they will leave the U.S. rather than live under his rule for the next four years.

Hours after polls closed across the U.S. on Tuesday night, Republican nominee Trump was declared the winner following a hotly-contested race that saw Harris step in just months ahead of Election Day after President Joe Biden dropped out.

Addressing supporters from Florida as the results showed they were in his favor, Trump said: “This was a movement like nobody’s ever seen before, and frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country and maybe beyond, and now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal.”

Trump touted a “political victory that our country has never seen before” and promised the “golden age” of the United States. He described his voter group as “the most unified coalition,” citing his gains among Black and Hispanic voters.

A slew of celebrities have taken to social media in the following days to share their views on the result, with a number celebrating and many others commiserating.

As the discourse continues, some stars should be packing their bags for pastures abroad, should they follow through on previous statements about Trump.

Newsweek has taken a look at the celebrities who have expressed a desire to live elsewhere in the world rather than have Trump as their president for a second term.

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Trump via email for comment.

Barbra Streisand

During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert exactly one year ago, Barbra Streisand told the titular host that she “can’t live in” the U.S. should Trump be successful in another bid for the White House.

When asked by Stephen Colbert for her thoughts on the current political climate, Streisand said that it was “bad,” before clarifying: “I like Biden. I think he’s done a good job. I think he’s compassionate, he’s smart, he supports the right things.”

Colbert then asked the revered singer and actor felt about the possibility of a second Trump administration.

“I will move,” she said. “I can’t live in this country if that’s … if he became president.”

As for the place she’d consider moving to? “Probably to England. I like England.”

This is not the first time that Streisand has spoken of quitting the U.S. in light of Trump. Ahead of the 2016 election, she expressed a similar sentiment, telling 60 Minutes Australia: “I’m either coming to your country, if you’ll let me in, or Canada.”

While Streisand has not publicly made mention of any migration plans since Trump’s most recent victory, she did write on X, formerly Twitter, on November 6 that there were “no words left.”

She added in another post: “Kamala Harris sent us off with a hopeful message when she said, ‘Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.’ Thank you, Kamala.”

Cher

In an October 2023 interview with The Guardian, Cher expressed her horror at the very thought of Trump making a return to the White House.

“I almost got an ulcer the last time [Trump was in office],” she told the U.K. newspaper. “If he gets in, who knows? This time I will leave [the country].”

Singer and actor Cher, who has a transgender child, also spoke with the publication about her distaste for the anti-trans climate that has risen to the fore in the U.S.

“It’s something like 500 bills they’re trying to pass,” she said. “I was with two trans girls the other night—and of course my own child. I was saying, ‘We’ve got to stand together.’ I don’t know what their eventual plan is for trans people. I don’t put anything past them.”

While Cher has stated that she will leave the country this time, the star said as Trump ran for office more than eight years ago that she would depart the planet if his bid proved to be successful.

“IF HE WERE TO BE ELECTED, [I’M] MOVING TO JUPITER,” she wrote on X in June 2015.

Sharon Stone

In late July, as the presidential race rapidly drew closer, Hollywood screen star Sharon Stone said that she was also considering a move to Europe if Trump was successful in his election efforts.

“I am certainly considering a house in Italy,” she told the Daily Mail. “I think that’s an intelligent construct at this time.”

Speaking of Trump, she added: “This is one of the first times in my life that I’ve actually seen anyone running for office on a platform of hate and oppression.”

In a sign of hope, Stone took to Instagram on Election Day to share a photo of herself wearing a sweater emblazoned with the words “madam president.”

As has been documented, the U.S. will have to wait at least another four years for the possibility of a woman president.

Jokes and Backtracking

Over the years, a host of other celebrities spoke about leaving the U.S. behind rather than accept Trump as the president. However, after his 2016 victory, many went on to explain that they were either joking or had changed their minds.

Among those was Miley Cyrus, who declared in an Instagram post back in 2016: “Honestly f*** this s*** I am moving if this is my president! I don’t say things I don’t mean!”

In a 2017 interview with NME, Cyrus ultimately condemned her own statement, telling the publication: “I’m not f****** leaving the country, that’s some ignorant s***, that’s dumb. Because that’s me abandoning my country when I think I’ve got a good thing to say to my country.

“And trust me, I hear every day on my Instagram, ‘Just leave already! When are you going to leave?’ Well, that’s not going to be any good. Does it really matter where I am? Because wherever I am, my f****** voice is gonna be heard, and I’ll make sure of it.”

Girls star Lena Dunham seemed equally committed to making a departure back in 2016, when she reportedly declared months before that year’s election that she would move to Canada.

Per the CBC, she said while appearing at New York City’s Matrix Awards at the time: “I know a lot of people have been threatening to do this, but I really will. I know a lovely place in Vancouver and I can get my work done from there.”

Following the election, Dunham took to Instagram to clarify her previous comments, explaining: “It’s easy to joke about moving to Canada. It’s harder to see, and to love, the people who fill your mailbox with hate … but I’m willing to try.”

Years later, Dunham did actually relocate, moving to the U.K. where she resides with her musician husband Luis Felber.

Also mulling a move north of the border during that election cycle was Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, who said during an appearance on The Bestseller Experiment podcast, that he “would definitely move” to Canada if Trump won.

“It’s not real to me that that would happen. I hope to God it won’t. It wouldn’t be a vacation. I’d be an expatriate,” he said at the time, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Following Trump’s victory, Cranston opted to focus on the future of the U.S., writing on X: “Although shocked and disappointed by the outcome, I hope the pres-elect will work to unify our wounded country. I sincerely wish him success.”

Although shocked and disappointed by the outcome, I hope the pres-elect will work to unify our wounded country. I sincerely wish him success

— Bryan Cranston (@BryanCranston) November 9, 2016

Comedian Amy Schumer caused a stir back in September 2016, when she told the BBC: “My act will change because I will need to learn to speak Spanish because I will move to Spain or somewhere. It’s beyond my comprehension if Trump won. It’s just too crazy.”

While a number of people took her remarks seriously, Schumer shared in a since-deleted Instagram post after the election that it was all said in jest.

“First of all, the interview where I said I would move was in London and was said in jest,” she stated. “Not that anyone needs more than a headline to count something as official news. Anyone saying pack your bags is just as disgusting as anyone who voted for this racist homophobic openly disrespectful woman abuser. Like the rest of us I am grieving today.”

The Whoopi Goldberg Factor

Back in May, Trump lashed out at The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg in response to a doctored meme that portrayed her as saying she was moving to Canada “for sure this time.”

Oscar-winning Ghost star Goldberg has publicly criticized the former president for a number of years. When Trump made an appearance on The View in 2011, Goldberg told him that the “birther” conspiracy theory he was spreading at the time about then-President Barack Obama was “the biggest pile of dog mess.”

Years later, as Trump ramped up his ultimately successful 2016 White House run, Goldberg said that she had questions about remaining in the U.S. if the former star of The Apprentice was elected into office. At the time, Trump sparked furor when he described Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers.

Over the years, erroneous social-media posts have been shared depicting Goldberg as having declared her outright intentions to move to Canada over Trump.

Days after Trump was elected in November 2016, Goldberg clarified her position on remaining in the country during an episode of ABC‘s The View.

“A lot of folks have said they were leaving over the course of these last couple years if Trump got elected. And, once again, people assume that that’s what I [said],” Goldberg said, adding that she was “incorrectly lumped” in with such people.

“So, this is gonna be the second time I’m clearing this up,” Goldberg said. “So, here’s a clip of me reading the transcript of exactly what I said the first time.”

A clip of Goldberg on an episode of The View from March 1, 2016, was then played, in which she quoted herself as previously saying: “You start pointing and saying, ‘This person’s a rapist and a murderer;’ it p***** me off, because I’ve been part of when they just use blanket statements about Black people, or when they use blanket statements to talk about white people or women or any other group.

“I don’t think that’s America. I don’t want it to be America. Maybe it’s time for me to move,” Goldberg added, reading out her previous statement.

“Now see, if you want to be mad at me, you want to make jokes, get your facts straight,” Goldberg said in the March 2016 episode as she ripped up her cue card.

“Just to be clear, I wouldn’t leave this country for him to p*** all over, for any reason. I’ve been here since the late 1700s,” she added.

Speaking in November 2016, Goldberg again said that she was “not leaving the country that I was born and raised in. My family spent years trying to get the vote, and trying to do all the things that we as Americans are allowed to do.

“We’re allowed to protest. We’re allowed to stand up and say we disagree. Whether we agree or not, it’s OK. But you don’t get to get to tell me that I’m going. You don’t get to make that decision for me. I’m staying!”