Pedro Almodóvar Criticizes Donald Trump in Harsh Words: "The Biggest Mistake of Our Times"

On Monday evening, the famous Spanish director received the Chaplin Award in New York, awarded for his lifetime achievement. During a fiery speech, Pedro Almodóvar aimed a sharp criticism at the incumbent US president. The creator of "Talk to Her" condemned Donald Trump for, among other things, his migration policy and pro-Russian stance in the context of the war in Ukraine. The Oscar winner described the leader's legacy as "one of the greatest harms done to humanity."

On April 28, the annual Chaplin Award ceremony took place at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan, New York. In previous years, the statuette for lifetime achievement has been given to Bette Davis, Barbara Streisand, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett . This time, the honor was given to Pedro Almodóvar , a Spanish director considered one of the most important and original European filmmakers. He was one of the leading figures of La movida madrileña , a cultural renewal movement that was born in Madrid after the death of dictator Francisco Franco and the fall of his regime.

For the creator of such iconic productions as "Talk to Her," "All About My Mother," "Broken Embraces," and "Bad Education," winning the award is a kind of return to his roots. It was at the New York Film Festival organized by Lincoln Center that Almodóvar celebrated his greatest artistic triumphs, showing 15 of his productions there. What's more, in the lobby of the Alice Tully Hall auditorium, where he received the award, he filmed a key scene of his new film "The Room Next Door."

In a fiery speech , the 75-year-old winner of an Oscar, three statuettes at Cannes and seven European Film Awards aimed a slashing blow at the incumbent president of the United States. Condemning Donald Trump’s migration policy and his pro-Russian stance in the context of the war in Ukraine, Almodóvar did not mince his words.

- I doubted whether it was appropriate to come to a country ruled by a narcissist who does not respect human rights. Trump and his friends, millionaires and oligarchs, will not be able to convince us that the world we see with our own eyes is its opposite - no matter how much they will conjure reality. Immigrants are not criminals. It was Russia that invaded Ukraine - said the filmmaker from the stage.

Almodóvar also shared his prediction about what legacy the US leader will leave behind.

- Mr. Trump, I'm talking to you now and I hope you'll hear what I'm about to tell you. You will go down in history as the greatest mistake of our time. Your naivety can only be compared to your violence. You will go down in history as one of the greatest harms done to humanity. You will go down in history as a total disaster - the director stated sharply.