He called Trump a Nazi.
He called America
a dictatorship.

Morning of November 9, 2016: it’s like a John Waters movie.

The morning after Election Night, Judd Apatow — director of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Trainwreck; producer of Superbad, Bridesmaids, and Anchorman— posted his reaction to the results. The tweet has since been deleted, but it was reported verbatim by IBTimes UK alongside other celebrity reactions: “After the wonderful Obamas it is going to be horrifying to see that awful family in the White House. It’s like a John Waters movie.”

The tweet was deleted. The sentiment was not retracted. What followed over the next decade was a systematic escalation of that sentiment — from “awful family” to “Nazi” to “mass murderer” to “dictatorship” — delivered across Twitter, stand-up sets, and awards show podiums to increasingly small audiences.

“After the wonderful Obamas it is going to be horrifying to see that awful family in the White House. It's like a John Waters movie.”

Judd Apatow — November 9, 2016 · Tweet since deleted · Reported by IBTimes UK

From “rape analogy” to “Trump is a Nazi.”

Between 2017 and 2018, Apatow’s anti-Trump commentary moved from a deleted tweet into stand-up sets and a prolific Twitter presence. Each statement is documented in contemporaneous news coverage.

“He is a murderer. He is death.”

In March 2020, as COVID spread, Apatow posted: “I think [McConnell] and all of these politicians should be prosecuted when this is done for the lies which cost thousands of deaths. He knows Trump is a con man who lied to everyone to delay bad news and that led to thousands of additional deaths. They are all murderers.” Reported by Breitbart and the Washington Examiner.

By September 2020, following Bob Woodward’s Ragerevelations, Apatow returned with two tweets. The first: “Donald is a mass murderer. Any comment which doesn’t make that clear is lying about what he is doing. He has chosen to misinform people to help him politically which is killing tens of thousands more people. He is a mass murderer by choice. He should be impeached for murder.” The second: “Trump pretends to be the funny, dumb outrageous guys at his Nazi rallies but we heard him with Woodward. He was sharp. He knew the facts. He chose to ignore them and let tens of thousands die. This is a character. He is a murderer, not an entertaining politician. He is death.”

“He is a murderer, not an entertaining politician. He is death.”

Judd Apatow — September 2020 · Reported by Fox News and Mediaite

Hitler at the DGA. “God will judge you” at the next one.

Apatow has used the Directors Guild of America Awards podium as a recurring platform. In February 2024, he described the presidential race as a choice between “a guy old enough to have met Hitler and a guy who wishes he had” — referring to Biden’s age and Trump’s ideology. The line was reported by Variety and NME.

At the February 2025 DGA Awards, with Trump back in office, Apatow escalated. Addressing the Hollywood audience: “There’s a good chance that some of you in this room voted for Trump. I won’t judge you, I won’t judge you. But God will.” He also told the owner of the Tesla Cybertruck in the parking lot to “go f*** yourself” and mocked Elon Musk for not understanding the premise of Step Brothers.

January 2026, Golden Globes: “We’re a dictatorship now.”

On January 11, 2026, Apatow appeared at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes at The Beverly Hilton to present the Best Director award. He had previously maintained a self-described 10-year “quiet boycott” of the Golden Globes since Trainwreck lost to The Martianin 2016. From the podium: “Since then, we’ve had COVID. I believe we’re a dictatorship now.”

The remark was reported by Variety and Fox News. It came ten years to the day from the “awful family” tweet and five categories of insult later: “awful family” → “rape analogy” → “Nazi” → “mass murderer” → “dictatorship.” The arc is complete.

“Since then, we've had COVID. I believe we're a dictatorship now.”

Judd Apatow — January 11, 2026, 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards · Reported by Variety

The Bubble got a 23%. He hasn’t directed a film since.

In 2007, Knocked Up earned $219 million worldwide on a $30 million budget. In 2005, The 40-Year-Old Virgin earned $177 million on a $26 million budget. These were the defining studio comedies of their era. Apatow was one of the most commercially reliable comedy directors in Hollywood.

In 2022, Netflix paid $50 million for The Bubble— a pandemic comedy starring an ensemble cast. Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 23%. Audience score: 35%. Inverse called it “our indisputable Worst Movie of 2022.” Hollywood In Toto published two pieces examining his career decline, both linking his political posturing to audience disengagement. He has not directed a theatrical feature since.

Ten years. Ten incidents. One audience, shrinking.

Judd Apatow made some of the best American comedies of the 2000s. He also, beginning the morning after Election Night 2016, spent a decade calling the President a Nazi, a mass murderer, a rapist metaphor, and the head of a dictatorship — from Twitter, from stand-up stages, from awards show podiums, to audiences that were progressively less interested in paying to see his films.