Donald Trump has claimed the director of Home Alone 2 “begged me to make a cameo appearance” after Chris Columbus said the former US president “bullied his way into the movie”.
Trump, 77, also said his cameo helped “make the movie a success” and that Columbus, 65, was chasing a “quick fix of Trump publicity” with his recent comments.
Released in 1992, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York tells the story of eight-year-old boy Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) after he accidentally boards a flight to New York instead of Miami, where his family are spending the Christmas holidays.
After landing in New York, Kevin makes his way to the five-star Plaza Hotel. There, Culkin’s character bumps into Trump, who owned the Plaza at the time, and asks him for directions to the lobby.
“Down the hall, and to the left,” Trump replies.
Explaining how the scene came to be, Columbus said the production team approached the Plaza Hotel for filming permission, which was granted on the condition that Trump was given a small role in the movie.
Trump has now shared his own version of events leading up to the scene being filmed, in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, writing that “Columbus, and others, were begging me to make a cameo appearance” in Home Alone 2.
He wrote: “They rented the Plaza Hotel in New York, which I owned at the time.
“I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent. I agreed, and the rest is history!”
He continued: “That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time. People call me whenever it is aired.
“Now, however, 30 years later, Columbus (what was his real name?) put out a statement that I bullied myself into the movie.
“Nothing could be further from the truth.”
He questioned why Columbus “put me in, and kept me” in the film for over 30 years “if they felt bullied, or didn’t want me”.
“Because I was, and still am, great for the movie, that’s why!” Trump declared. “Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
The Independent has contacted Columbus’s representatives for comment.
Columbus previously admitted he was surprised by the audience’s reaction to seeing Trump in the movie, describing it as the “oddest thing”.
He told Business Insider: “When we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen. So I said to my editor, ‘Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience.’”
