Hollywood just went to war, and John Cusack fired the latest shot. The outspoken actor didn’t hold back for a single second when CNN caught up with him at Chicago’s fiery No Kings Protests this weekend. Standing amid a sea of angry demonstrators, the High Fidelity star tore into President Donald Trump live on air, ending his rant with two words that instantly set social media ablaze: “Go to hell.”
The 59-year-old Hollywood rebel, who’s long been one of Trump’s fiercest celebrity critics, was approached by CNN’s Whitney Wild for a quick comment. What she got instead was a full-blown takedown. “Everyone knows the score, right?” Cusack began, his voice cutting through the crowd noise. “The authoritarians divide and conquer, and they create an ‘other’ and then they pick on it, pick on the person, harass them, jail them, and that’s all used as a direction so they can steal as much as they can [and] maintain power.”
He didn’t stop there. “We all know history. So, that’s what he’s doing, and we have masked goons roaming the streets, hiding their faces, abducting people,” the actor said, visibly furious as protesters cheered in the background.
Later in the broadcast, CNN aired another clip of Cusack, and if his first comments were fiery, his next ones were pure gasoline. “What’s interesting is that he doesn’t understand that all the labor rights around the world came from this town, this place,” he said of his hometown Chicago, before dropping his headline-making line: “So if he thinks this place is going to be a fascist hub – no chance.” Then, he looked straight into the camera and snarled, “Go to hell!”
It was vintage Cusack, raw, angry, unfiltered, and the internet went wild. This isn’t the first time the Say Anything actor has blasted Trump. He’s been relentlessly outspoken on X (formerly Twitter) for years, calling the former president everything from an “idiot sociopath” to a “deranged criminal Nazi.”
On Saturday, Cusack also praised Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for “fighting back against Trump’s fascism.” Both Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have publicly condemned the president’s latest crackdowns, accusing him of using ICE, Border Patrol, and even the National Guard to intimidate citizens. Pritzker recently accused Trump of “inciting violence” against federal agents, a charge the president has shrugged off.
And speaking of Trump, he didn’t waste time clapping back in his own bizarre way. Over the weekend, his team released a surreal AI-generated video showing him wearing a golden crown, flying a fighter jet, and dumping feces over anti-Trump protesters. The clip, which quickly went viral, has been branded by critics as “unhinged” and “disturbing.”
The No Kings Protests, which erupted in more than 2,600 cities across the U.S. and abroad, drew millions demanding an end to what they call Trump’s “authoritarian rule.” Cusack wasn’t the only A-lister spotted showing support. Hollywood heavyweights like Pedro Pascal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Stiller also posted about or attended the rallies. But it was Cusack’s fiery on-air tirade that stole the show, a Hollywood moment CNN probably didn’t see coming.
