Trump denies forcing his way into 'Home Alone 2' cameo
NEW YORK - Former US president Donald Trump is vehemently denying that he forced his way into his famous cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, reported German news agency (dpa).
Trump claims the filmmakers were "begging" him to appear in the 1992 flick, when they asked him to film at the Plaza Hotel, which he owned at the time.
Trump's comments come after a years-old interview began circulating, in which the film's director said Trump only allowed them at the Plaza if they included him in a scene.
"Like most locations in New York, you just pay a fee and you are allowed to shoot in that location," director Chris Columbus told Business Insider in 2020.
"We approached the Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time, because we wanted to shoot in the lobby. We couldn’t rebuild The Plaza on a soundstage.
"Trump said OK. We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I'm in the movie'," Columbus continued. "He did bully his way into the movie."
In response to the reemergence of the interview this holiday season, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to defend himself.
"I was very busy, and didn't want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent," he wrote Wednesday. "I agreed, and the rest is history! That little cameo took off like a rocket and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time.
"If they felt bullied, or didn’t want me, why did they put me in, and keep me there, for over 30 years?" Trump added. "Because I was, and still am, great for the movie, that’s why!"
In the famous clip, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) attempts to check into the Plaza Hotel by using his dad's credit card, and then runs into Trump, who offers him directions to the lobby.
The former president, who's currently trying to make his way back onto 2024 ballots despite being mired in criminal indictments, has made numerous cameo appearances in TV shows and films, in addition to his own Apprentice reality series.
Trump has also appeared in Sex and the City, Zoolander, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Two Weeks Notice. - BERNAMA-dpa
