Actress Mila Kunis says it “saddens” her to see the political rise of Donald Trump given her family’s own history as Ukrainian immigrants to the United States.
In an interview with Glamour magazine, the 32-year-old Bad Moms and That 70s Show star detailed her family’s own journey to the United States when the actress was a child, after a rise in anti-Semitism prompted the family of seven to pick up and move with just $250 in their pockets.
“My parents, for years, worked full-time and went to college full-time. They would go to night school to learn English,” Kunis told the magazine. “My mom started working at Thrifty in Culver City as a box lady. That’s what she did until she learned English; then she became a cashier.”
“My dad worked—f*ck if I know—seven jobs? He painted a house. He would deliver toilets. He drove a cab, delivered pizzas. Whatever he could do, he did,” the actress added. “Ultimately, my dad owned cabs, and my mom worked her way up to manager of a Rite-Aid; they bought a car and a condo. But growing up poor, I never missed out on anything. My parents did a beautiful job of not making me feel like I was lesser than any other kids.”
Kunis says it is this family history that leads her to vehemently disagree with Trump’s proposed immigration policies.
“The whole Syrian refugee thing—we came here on a religious-refugee visa, and I’m not going to blow this country up,” she told Glamour. “I’m clearly paying taxes. I’m not taking anything away. So the fact that people look at what’s happening and are like, ‘Pfft, they’re going to blow sh*t up?’ It saddens me how much fear we’ve instilled in ourselves.”
Kunis also dismissed Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I don’t even have to answer that one,” she said. “There’s no point. It’s a really great sound bite. And it got him far. Nobody should be mad at him; we did it to ourselves.”
Kunis also discussed her marriage to fellow That 70s Show star Ashton Kutcher and revealed the best and worst aspects of being a parent in the wide-ranging interview with Glamour. Read the actress’ full interview here.
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