SAN SEBASTIÁN, Spain – American actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie said Sunday that she no longer recognizes the United States, voicing alarm over mounting threats to free expression while presenting her latest film at Spain’s prestigious San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Her remarks come amid growing concerns over freedom of speech in the U.S., following President Donald Trump’s escalating clashes with critical media outlets and the controversial suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after comments about the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
“I love my country, but I don’t at this time recognize my country,” Jolie said when asked whether she feared for the state of free speech in the U.S.
“Anything, anywhere, that divides people or limits personal expression and freedoms is dangerous,” she continued. “We are living through very heavy, very uncertain times, and the consequences of silence or censorship can be devastating.”
The 50-year-old actress was in San Sebastián to promote Couture, the latest film by French director Alice Winocour, which is competing for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Shell. In the drama, Jolie portrays Maxine Walker, an American filmmaker grappling with divorce and a life-threatening illness, all while navigating the glamorous yet cutthroat world of Paris Fashion Week and beginning a new romance with a colleague, played by French actor Louis Garrel.
The Oscar-winning star, who earned her Academy Award in 1999 for Girl, Interrupted, said she felt a deep personal connection to the struggles of her character. Jolie has long been open about her own health battles: in 2013 she underwent a preventive double mastectomy, followed by surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes due to a high genetic risk of cancer — the disease that claimed the lives of her mother and grandmother.
Visibly moved during the press conference, Jolie said she often thought of her late mother while working on Couture.
“I wish she had been able to speak as openly as I have been allowed to, and to have received the same compassion and support,” Jolie said softly. “She often felt isolated in her illness, and I think so many women still do.”
She emphasized the unique challenges surrounding women’s cancers, which affect not only physical health but also identity and self-perception. “There’s something very particular about these illnesses because they touch on how we feel as women,” she explained.
In recent years, Jolie has increasingly used her platform to address social and political issues, from refugee rights and humanitarian crises to education and gender equality. Her latest comments reflect a growing unease among artists, journalists, and activists over what they see as a shrinking space for dissent and free thought in the U.S.
As she left the stage to warm applause, Jolie’s words resonated as both a personal reflection and a political warning — a reminder of the fragile balance between art, freedom, and truth in turbulent times.
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