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‘34 is now my favorite number’: Stephen King and Barbra Streisand lead celebrity reactions to Trump guilty verdict

John Leguizamo, Ellen Barkin and Lynda Carter also respond to Trump becoming first criminally convicted US president

Kevin E G Perry
Los Angeles
Sunday 02 June 2024 16:41 BST
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Trump makes history as first criminally convicted former US president

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Celebrities have not been shy reacting to Donald Trump being found guilty on all 34 felony counts, marking the first-ever criminal conviction of an American president, with one notable saying “34 is now my favorite number.”

Trump is still expected to campaign once again for the White House in this year’s upcoming election, a fact horror author Stephen King noted on X/Twitter with the message: “The Republican candidate for President is a convicted felon.”

Singer, actor and long-time Democrat Barbra Streisand also turned her attention to November’s election, writing: “Convicted felon Donald Trump is blaming the judge, the jury and New York for being found guilty on 34 counts. He will never accept accountability for his crimes. Americans must not allow this felon anywhere near the White House again.”

Others reacted directly to the emotion of the long-awaited verdict being announced. Actor John Leguizamo reposted a meme ostensibly showing a bar full of people reacting joyfully to the news, captioning it with the comment: “We are all cheering for justice and that no one is above the law!”

Comedian Kathy Griffin, who was fired by CNN in 2017 after posting a picture of herself holding up the fake severed head of Trump, reacted to a fan saying that the former president is “finally getting in trouble for his mobster antics” by writing: “Thank you for saying that. It was awful and he is awful. TEARS OF JOY”.

Barbra Streisand at the Women’s March after Trump’s inauguration in 2017
Barbra Streisand at the Women’s March after Trump’s inauguration in 2017 (Getty Images)

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who recently appeared at the White House to voice his support for President Joe Biden, posted a screenshot showing the word: “GUILTY” in bright red capital letters 34 times.

Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter quipped: “34 is now my favorite number” and Mean Girls actorAna Gasteyer joked: “In retrospect I’m glad I decided not to drink every time they said Guilty because I’d never have made it through making dinner.”

Meanwhile, SNL’s Trump actor James Austin Johnson shared a hilarious video reacting to the news on Instagram.

Not everyone was celebrating, however. Piers Morgan called the trial “ridiculous” and “shameful”, while reality star Caitlyn Jenner responded to the verdict by writing: “An outrageous day for America. The entire process has been outrageous, of course. Shame on the state of New York. Shame on the corrupt DOJ.”

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Comedian, actor and singer Bette Midler posted a meme quoting Robert De Niro’s recent broadside against Trump that the Raging Bull actor delivered outside the courtroom yesterday. “Donald Trump doesn’t belong in my city...” begins the message.

“We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot... but a person like Trump can’t run the country. That doesn’t work. And we know that.”

Meanwhile, pop star Katy Perry appeared to react with an ambiguous message, writing on social media shortly after the verdict was announced: “LFG” (an acronym for ‘Let’s f***ing go”.

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