Magician Penn Jillette: ‘I really enjoyed working with Trump… Now I’m on his hate list’
Penn Jillette says he’s on Donald Trump’s enemies list because the president-elect feels a sense of “betrayal” towards him – and more specifically because of a risqué joke about his hair.
The 69-year-old magician, who’s one-half of the double act Penn & Teller, tells Sky News: “I am reported in the New York Times on his hate list, and he’s promised retribution to everybody on that list.”
He’s referring to “an enemies list of people [Mr Trump] intends to prosecute,” which vice president Kamala Harris has previously warned of.
While Jillette admits he doesn’t know all the reasons he’s reportedly on the list, he thinks a deciding factor may have been a joke he describes as “the best thing I’ve ever said in my life”.
When asked what he thought of Mr Trump by a journalist, Jillette says he responded: “He has hair that looks like cotton candy made of piss”.
And he’s not at all repentant about his past comment, adding: “It’s exactly what it is. Yeah, he didn’t like that one bit.”
Rock stars of magic, Penn & Teller found fame in the mid-1980s, toured with critically acclaimed shows throughout the 1990s and saw TV success on both sides of the pond.
Appearing on shows including Friends, The Simpsons, Sabrina The Teenage Witch and even popping up in a Katy Perry music video, Jillette’s fame would go on to win him a place alongside Mr Trump on US The Celebrity Apprentice in 2012, returning for an All-Stars season the following year.
It was a role Jillette says he enjoyed – with caveats.
Penn & Teller in 1998. Pic: AP
‘Showbiz is very different from politics’
“I really liked working with Trump in that environment. The fact that I liked working with him in the show business environment is very different from him in the political context.
“Trump did not understand that he thought that it was some sort of betrayal.”
Not one to mince his words, he describes the man who is set to become America’s leader for a second time in January as “incompetent”, “stupid”, and lacking in “processing power”.
But speaking about the on-set dynamic, he does have regrets about his own behaviour: “He was a laughingstock. We all had to prop him up. And in retrospect, that’s really awful.
“If I had my time back, I would have never once called him Mr Trump, which I did. I thought I was doing it kind of snarkily, but it didn’t read that way on camera.”
Penn & Teller in 2010. Pic: AP
‘No affection’ for Teller
In the interest of balance, Mr Trump has been equally vocal in his dislike of Penn, calling him among other things “sad”, a “goofball atheist” and a “boring guy” according to a 2019 New York Times list of people, places and things Mr Trump has insulted on Twitter.
And Mr Trump shouldn’t feel too aggrieved that Jillette isn’t a fan – it turns out the magician wouldn’t vote for Teller to be president either.
Despite performing over 8,000 live shows – more than the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis and The Clash put together – and trusting Teller with his life, he admits: “If he ran for president, I wouldn’t support him… it’s a different skill set.”
But he adds: “He’d be a million times better than Trump.”
Penn & Teller in 2011. Pic: AP
A chalk and cheese mix, with a 6’7″ Jillette towering over a 5’9″ Teller, and with Jillette famously doing all the talking, he says he has “no affection” whatsoever for his comedy partner of nearly 50 years.
He explains: “Teller and I never felt any affection for one another whatsoever. It was totally intellectual. We felt we could do better stuff together than separately. So, our relationship was that of two guys who own a dry cleaner.”
Conceding that after all these years his daughter makes him refer to Teller as his BFF, he concedes: “There is a friendship that’s very, very deep. However, we don’t hang out.”
Backstage in 2004. Pic: AP
Ditched the gun and flag tricks
An atheist, an unlikely vegan and a peacenik, the former libertarian (Jillette rejected the libertarian movement after he was to lead a rally against masks, a move that saw him “totally, totally out”) says their act has been honed down over the years.
Their famous bullet catch trick is gone, partly Jillette says because “when people see a gun, especially in the hands of an American, the person holding that gun is expected to be making a statement about gun violence”.
And he says: “I don’t have a succinct statement to make about gun violence, except I’m against it.”
Their disappearing flag trick – once performed on an episode of The West Wing – has also been ditched.
Now “a symbol of the right-wing” he says his country’s flag has now been hijacked as “a symbol of part of the country”, a fact he says is “bothersome”.
Penn & Teller chatting to the king at the Royal Variety Performance. Pic: Reuters
‘I’ve talked to the cat for a while’
As for us Brits, Jillette says he “likes England very much” and is on first-name terms with “the potentate formerly known as Prince” – or King Charles as he’s more commonly known.
Past royal gigs mean he’s laid back about entertaining the monarch at this year’s Royal Variety Performance, explaining: “I’ve talked to the cat for a while. So, it’s kind of like a guy I know coming to the show.”
A controversial career filled with critical acclaim, royal approval and magical disapproval (they were famously barred from the Magic Circle for explaining their tricks to the audience) has kept Penn & Teller in the spotlight for over four decades.
Receiving their Hollywood Walk Of Fame star in 2013. Pic: Reuters
And with their record-breaking act at The Rio Hotel and Casino – once described by Mr Trump as “the worst show in Las Vegas” – scheduled up to 2026, they’ve no plans of slowing down.
Jillette says they will perform “until death”, adding: “We will die in office.”
As he ponders the possibility, his mind returns to his position on Mr Trump’s hate list, linking the two with a wry smile.
He concludes: “When I see King Charles, I may request asylum. You may be seeing a lot of me over in England.”
Penn & Teller come to the West End next year, performing at The London Palladium from Saturday 13 September to Wednesday 24 September.
Tommy Fury has opened up about having an alcohol problem – citing his drinking as the reason for his split from Molly-Mae Hague.
Hague, 25, shocked fans in August when she announced the end of her relationship with her then-fiancé, with whom she shares daughter Bambi, who turns two later this month.
Both stars had, until now, refused to publicly reveal the cause of the split. Fury, also 25, has now said the break-up came after he began “drinking quite a lot” while unable to train after hand surgery.
“I’d go out and just drink and drink and drink,” he told Men’s Health. “It went on that way for a long time.
“Most nights I would to drink to get black-out drunk. I think that’s what really took its toll on me.”
Shooting down claims he was unfaithful to Hague, Fury added: “Cheating was never a thing. You can ask Molly this yourself. It was the drink, and the drink is not a good thing. You need to get a grip of it.
“We broke up because I had a problem with alcohol and I couldn’t be the partner that I wanted to be anymore. It kills me to say it, but I couldn’t. I loved a pint of beer, loved to drink.”
Fury and Hague were together for five years. Pic: PA
Fury, who was seen spending New Year’s Eve with his ex, added he has “got himself out of that [drinking] now”.
Hague’s break-up announcement came just weeks after she had referred to Fury as the “love of my life” to mark their engagement anniversary on Instagram.
She later told Vogue UK: “No one will ever really know what went down apart from Tommy and I.
“I do think that he will talk about things eventually. I do think that when he’s ready, like, maybe more will be said. But I think that’s for him to do on his terms.”
More entertainment news:
BAFTA nominations revealed
Hollywood events delayed due to fires
Meanwhile, Fury labelled allegations he had cheated as “horrendous” and thanked “everybody who has stood by me through this”.
The pair met on Love Island in 2019 and welcomed their daughter in January 2023. Fury proposed seven months later in Ibiza.
Entertainment
BAFTA nominations 2025: Conclave, Emilia Perez and The Brutalist lead the race as shortlists revealed
This year’s BAFTA nominations have been revealed, with papal thriller Conclave leading the race.
Starring Ralph Fiennes as a clergyman responsible for the selection of the next Pope, the film is up for 12 awards – including best film, best director, best actor, and best supporting actress for Isabella Rossellini.
Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez, which tells the story of a Mexican cartel boss who undergoes gender affirmation surgery, is another best film nominee and has 11 BAFTA nods in total – with star Karla Sofía Gascón up for best actress and co-stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez both in the running in the supporting actress category.
Selena Gomez as Jessi and Karla Sofia Gascon as Emilia Perez in Emilia Perez. Pic: Why Not Productions/ Netflix
The Brutalist, an epic drama starring Adrien Brody as a Hungarian architect attempting to build a life in the US after the Second World War, has nine nominations – including best film and best actor, and supporting nods for co-stars Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones.
Elsewhere there are seven nominations each for Wicked, Anora, and Dune: Part Two, six for A Complete Unknown and Kneecap, and five for Nosferatu and The Substance.
Read more:
Conclave: ‘It’s not a facile takedown of the Catholic Church’
Selena Gomez on Emilia Perez: ‘It’s a little pat on the back’
Kieran Culkin on A Real Pain: ‘I’d get defensive’
Rappers Kneecap star in a self-titled music biopic about their rise to fame. Pic: Curzon Film
In the performance categories, Gascon is up against Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Mikey Madison (Anora), Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun) and Demi Moore, whose performance in body horror The Substance won her a Golden Globe earlier this month.
Fiennes and Brody’s best actor competitors are Timothee Chalamet, for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, along with Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Hugh Grant (Heretic) and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).
Kieran Culkin, another recent Golden Globe winner, makes the best supporting actor shortlist once again for his performance in A Real Pain, alongside Pearce and Yura Borisov (Anora), Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing), Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown) and Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice).
Demi Moore has already won a Golden Globe for her performance as an actress whose star is on the wane in The Substance. Pic: Mubi
Ariana Grande, who stars as Glinda opposite Erivo’s Elphaba in Wicked, and Jamie Lee Curtis, for her performance in The Last Showgirl, make up the best supporting actress shortlist.
For 14 of the 24 acting nominees – including Culkin, Grande, Gascon, Gomez and Moore – it is their first BAFTA film nomination.
Erivo and Chalamet are both previous recipients of the rising star award, which is voted for by the public.
Read more:
Sing Sing: The prison drama based on a true story
Kneecap rappers on their unlikely big-screen stardom
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked. Pic: Universal Pictures
In the best director category, Conclave’s Edward Berger is in the running alongside Brady Corbet, for The Brutalist, Denis Villeneuve, for Dune: Part Two, Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez, Coralie Fargeat for The Substance, and Sean Baker for Anora.
Baker also has nominations for best original screenplay, casting and editing, making him the most nominated individual this year.
The BAFTAs also includes a category for outstanding British film, with Conclave also shortlisted here alongside films including Steve McQueen’s Blitz, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, and Irish-language film Kneecap – which stars the rap trio of the same name in a semi-autobiographical account of their rise to fame.
In total, there are 42 films up for awards, spanning a range of genres.
“The film industry has delivered in spades once again,” said BAFTA chief executive Jane Millichip.
“The skills on display from creative and technical practitioners across the board are phenomenal,” added BAFTA chair Sara Putt.
Could this be the most competitive BAFTAs for years?
What do you get if you bring several priests, a Mexican cartel leader and an architect together under one roof?
Not the world’s most niche fancy dress party, but 2025’s BAFTA film awards shortlist.
Jazz hands and jump scares are the order of the day. Horror is unusually well represented this year, with The Substance, Heretic and Nosferatu all receiving nods, while musicals are also dominating thanks to Emilia Perez, Wicked and, arguably, the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.
Speaking of music, it’s very good news for Irish language rappers Kneecap, whose self-titled semi-true biopic is up for best British film and five other awards. It’s somewhat ironic given that while they rap about wanting Irish independence, the film qualifies as being British as they’re from Northern Ireland.
In the leading actress category, it’s all to play for as none of the nominees has ever won a BAFTA. Fans of ’90s nostalgia will be hoping the Demi-ssaince continues after Demi Moore’s Golden Globe win last month for her performance in body horror The Substance.
Hugh Grant, up for lead actor, last won that BAFTA back in 1995 for his breakthrough performance in Four Weddings And A Funeral. This time around, he’s in the running for a very different role, as a creepy killer in Heretic. He’s nominated alongside another ’90s winner – Ralph Fiennes, who last picked up a BAFTA for supporting actor in 1994.
The nominations this year really showcase a diverse range of genres – and with no clear frontrunners in some categories, could this be the most competitive BAFTAs we’ve seen in a while?
Read more:
The full list of films and stars up for awards
Oscar nominations and other events affected by LA fires
The nominees for this year’s rising star award, which is the only BAFTA prize voted for by the public, have already been announced, with Marisa Abela, Jharrel Jerome, David Jonsson, Mikey Madison and Nabhaan Rizwan in the running.
And Harry Potter star Warwick Davis has also been revealed as the recipient of this year’s BAFTA fellowship, the organisation’s highest honour, for his “trailblazing work” as an actor and for his charity supporting people with dwarfism.
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Marisa Abela is among the rising star nominees
The BAFTA nominations come at a difficult time for the industry, with the organisers of several US awards ceremonies, including the Oscars, pushing their own announcements back and holding more low-key events due to the wildfires in Los Angeles.
However, the Oscars ceremony is still currently scheduled to go ahead as planned on Sunday 2 March.
The BAFTA ceremony will be held at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday 16 February.
There are 42 films up for awards at this year’s BAFTA ceremony, from blockbusters to indie breakthroughs.
Organisers have now revealed the shortlists, with papal thriller Conclave leading the nominations, followed closely by Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez, and post-war epic The Brutalist.
The star-studded BAFTA ceremony will take place in London on Sunday 16 February.
Here’s the full list of the stars and films up for each prize.
Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s Conclave. Pic: Focus Features 2024
BEST FILM
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Perez
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Bird
Blitz
Conclave
Gladiator II
Hard Truths
Kneecap
Lee
Love Lies Bleeding
The Outrun
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Rappers Kneecap star in a music biopic about their rise to fame. Pic: Curzon Film
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Hoard – Luna Carmoon (director/ writer)
Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt (director, writer)
Monkey Man – Dev Patel (director)
Santosh – Sandhya Suri (director, writer), James Bowsher (producer), Balthazar de Ganay (producer)
Sister Midnight – Karan Kandhari (director, writer)
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
All We Imagine As Light
Emilia Perez
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig
DOCUMENTARY
Black Box Diaries
Daughters
No Other Land
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Pic: Netflix
ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Inside Out 2
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
CHILDREN’S & FAMILY FILM
Flow
Kensuke’s Kingdom
Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
DIRECTOR
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet
Conclave – Edward Berger
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve
Emilia Perez – Jacques Audiard
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
Mikey Madison in Anora. Pic: Neon/Augusta Quirk
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt, Naoise O Caireallain, Liam Og O Hannaidh, JJ O Dochartaigh
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
A Complete Unknown – James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave – Peter Straughan
Emilia Perez – Jacques Audiard
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield
LEADING ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofia Gascon – Emilia Perez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked. Pic: PA
LEADING ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Selena Gomez – Emilia Perez
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Jamie Lee Curtis – The Last Showgirl
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce in The Brutalist. Pic: A24
CASTING
Anora – Sean Baker, Samantha Quan
The Apprentice – Stephanie Gorin, Carmen Cuba
A Complete Unknown – Yesi Ramirez
Conclave – Nina Gold, Martin Ware
Kneecap – Carla Stronge
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Conclave – Stephanie Fontaine
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Emilia Perez – Paul Guilhaume
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke
EDITING
Anora
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Perez
Kneecap
Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Pic: Searchlight Pictures
COSTUME DESIGN
Blitz
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Nosferatu
Wicked
MAKE-UP & HAIR
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Perez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked
ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Perez
Nosferatu
The Wild Robot
Demi Moore in The Substance. Pic: Mubi
PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked
SOUND
Blitz
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
The Substance
Wicked
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
Wicked
Robbie Williams is depicted as a chimpanzee in Better Man. Pic: Paramount Pictures
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
Adios
Mog’s Christmas
Wander To Wonder
BRITISH SHORT FILM
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
Marion
Milk
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Stomach Bug
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Marisa Abela
Jharrel Jerome
David Jonsson
Mikey Madison
Nabhaan Rizwan
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