Blunt Regrets U.S. Citizenship?

British actress Emily Blunt became a U.S. citizen in August in what US Weekly dubbed a “VIP legal oath ceremony.” Is she regretting her choice already?

Blunt, who stars in the new drug trade thriller “Sicario” opening in select cities Friday, suggested just that during a politically charged chat with The Hollywood Reporter. Asked about GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, the actress didn’t hold back.

“I became an American citizen recently, and that night, we watched the Republican debate and I thought, ‘This was a terrible mistake. What have I done?'” asked Blunt, a smirk on her face.

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Blunt isn’t the only star to potentially antagonize half of her movie-going audience. In 2008, Kate Beckinsale chatted up her thriller “Nothing But the Truth” with Entertainment Weekly in this Q & A exchange:

Q: As a British citizen living in the U.S., were you a news junkie during the election?
Beckinsale: I really enjoyed the whole debate process. We don’t have that in England. And I was so shocked to see people admitting to being Republican on their front lawn!

Actors occasionally damage their films’ box office hopes without political rhetoric. Consider how director Ridley Scott and actor Christian Bale helped sink their own project last year while talking to the media.

They had teamed up for “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” a film that told the story of Moses. During the film’s publicity tour, Bale said he saw Moses as being schizophrenic and barbaric. Scott, in turn, had this to say about Moses.

That’s hardly what the film’s audience wanted to hear.

“In essence, he was a fundamentalist … In today’s world, he’d be pursued by missiles and jets and creamed. Or not. He was very clever, a very good leader.”

That’s hardly what the film’s potential audience, including a strong Christian community curious to see Moses on the big screen once more, wanted to hear. “Exodus: Gods and Kings” tanked at the box office, earning $65 million domestically despite a $140 budget, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Movie stars endure the publicity gauntlet for one reason, and it’s not for any hotel swag. It’s how they build up interest and awareness in their product. Sometimes what they say ends up having the opposite effect.