Sylvester Stallone reveals scathing response to Trump Special Envoy gig… after gushing over President being the 'second George Washington'

Sylvester Stallone has revealed the truth behind President Donald Trump's January 2025 announcement of his appointment as a special ambassador to Hollywood.

The 80-year-old actor, who opened up about his 20-year feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger, said he was blindsided by Trump's bold claim, which was shared in a Truth Social post days before his second inauguration.

Along with Stallone, Trump  declared that Mel Gibson and Jon Voight were also his 'Special Envoys,' to serve as his 'eyes and ears' in the entertainment sphere and advise him in his pursuit to bring film and television production back to US soil.

Speaking with The Sunday Times, Stallone said he learned of the appointment while watching TV.

'I was watching TV one night, and they go, "So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be…" And I went, "What?" I said, "Excuse me? Really?" Because if they had asked me in the beginning, I would have said, "This is not possible,"' he told the outlet. 

When asked if he had apprehension about the role, the Rocky star answered, 'Yes. Yes, because Hollywood, I guess it’s like feudal states. They have their little kingdoms.'

He explained, 'You don’t go in and tell six studios how to do things. And Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, we’re kind of do-our-own-thing people. No, it won’t work.'

Stallone said he eventually told Trump the envoy position wouldn't work.

'I said thank you and ciao, because it’s impossible. Hollywood works, and it will evolve,' he shared. 'It’s corporate, and corporate people won’t want to hear me tell them about finance.'

Trump wrote in his January 16, 2025 post: 'It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California.'

He elaborated at the time, 'They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!

'These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!'

Gibson, 70, also said he was shocked to hear Trump's announcement for the first time alongside the public.

'I got the tweet at the same time as all of you and was just as surprised,' he admitted to Variety shortly after the news. 'Nevertheless, I heed the call. My duty as a citizen is to give any help and insight I can.'

He then joked, 'Any chance the position comes with an Ambassador’s residence?'

Stallone lauded Trump after he won the November 2024 election, comparing him to George Washington.

The actor-entrepreneur introduced Trump at the America First Policy Institute Gala at Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, stating: 'We’re in the presence of a really mythical character.

'I love mythology. And this individual does not exist on this planet. Nobody in the world could have pulled off what he pulled off, so I’m in awe.'

He continued nearly two years ago, 'When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was gonna change the world. Because without him, you could imagine what the world would look like. Guess what? We got the second George Washington.'

Then in 2025, Trump named Stallone a 2025 Kennedy Center honoree alongside George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford.

Stallone's memoir The Steps, from Harper Collins, will be published on September 29.