‘Wake-Up Call?’: Julia Roberts Took the Stage and Said What Everyone Was Thinking About Donald Trump and the Crowd Lost It

“Pretty Woman” actress Julia Roberts mocked Donald Trump during a recent appearance at the 63rd New York Film Festival.

Roberts was at Lincoln Center on Sept. 26 to promote her new film with Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield, “After the Hunt,” and she gave a subtle dig at the president when asked a question about cancel culture by a member of the audience.

Julia Roberts once endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris over Donald Trump for president, and her latest dig mocked his infamous UN speech. (Photos: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for WarnerMedia, Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trump gave a disastrous speech to the UN General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 23, with one of the most shocking moments being when he told the world leaders of the countries in attendance, “Your countries are going to hell.” He later insulted the U.N. by asking, “What is the purpose of the United Nations?”

When a person in the audience asked the cast, “Do you think there is a wake-up call for cancel culture in the United States?” Roberts replied by joking, “You should answer over at the UN right now,” which received applause from the audience as well as laughter, according to The US Mirror.

The “Eat, Pray, Love” star has received Trump’s wrath before, as she spoke about not voting for Trump in a campaign ad for Vice President Kamala Harris when she ran against him in the 2024 election.

Roberts narrated the ad, which encouraged women to vote for Harris, not Trump, and the president did not take it well, according to MSN.

“I’m so disappointed at Julia Roberts,” he said. “Because I love, she’s going to look back at that and cringe that, did I really say that?”

Trump went on to trash her relationship with her husband, Daniel Moder. Roberts and Moder have been married for more than 20 years and share three kids — Hazel, Henry, and Phinnaeus.

“It doesn’t say much for her relationship, but I’m sure she has a great relationship,” added Trump. “Even if you have a horrible, if you had a bad relationship, you’re going to tell your husband. That’s a ridiculous ad. It’s so stupid. You’re going to look back some days and just say, ‘Did I really make that?’”

“After the Hunt” will have its theatrical debut on Oct. 10 via Amazon MGM.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top