(The Hill) — Former President Trump denied this week that he insisted on being featured in "Home Alone 2," saying the makers of the popular holiday film "begged" him to appear in it.
"30 years ago (how time flies!), Director Chris Columbus, and others, were begging me to make a cameo appearance in Home Alone 2," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website on Wednesday.
Trump celebrated his appearance in the film, which takes place during a scene in New York's Plaza Hotel, saying it "took off like a rocket," and taking credit for the film's blockbuster success.
Trump's social media post comes after an interview that Columbus gave in 2020, during which he said Trump told him "the only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie."
“So we agreed to put him in the movie, and when we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on screen," Columbus told Business Insider at the time, Variety reported. "So I said to my editor, ‘Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience.’ But he did bully his way into the movie.”
Trump, in his Truth Social post, said "nothing could be further from the truth."
"That cameo helped make the movie a success, but if they felt bullied, or didn’t want me, why did they put me in, and keep me there, for over 30 years? Because I was, and still am, great for the movie, that’s why," the former president wrote. "Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!"
A 2020 petition to remove Trump's star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame has received thousands of signatures. The creator, Andrew Rudick, recently told Nexstar’s KTLA that he has gone to several city organizations in the hopes that they would remove Trump’s star permanently. The decision has, however, caused some controversy.