Dame Emma Thompson has quit the home country she once described as “a tiny little cloud-bolted, rainy corner of sort-of Europe, a cake-filled misery-laden grey old island” for Venice, Italy, in the wake of Brexit.
An ardent European Union loyalist, the 60-year-old Love Actually actress was appalled by the British people’s voted for Brexit.
“I feel European even though I live in Great Britain, and in Scotland,” she had said at the Berlin film festival during the referendum campaign in 2016 — slightly confusingly, as Scotland is part of Great Britain, not a separate entity.
“[O]f course I’m going to vote to stay in Europe, Oh my God, it would be madness not to. It would be a crazy idea not to. We should be taking down borders, not putting them up,” she said.
Dame Emma and her husband, 53-year-old The Crown actor Greg wise, appear to have found their own personal way out of Brexit by acquiring honourary citizenship in Venice, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
“They wanted to be resident citizens to come and live in Venice,’ said the city’s deputy mayor, Simone Venturini, adding that ‘They bought in the historic centre” and that Venetian property is expected to their main residence rather than a “second home” to the multi-million pound London mansion.
“She was very happy and said that she loves Venice very much,” said Venturini.
“They told me they are attending Italian courses. We are truly happy and proud to have Emma Thompson and Greg Wise as our fellow citizens, for what they represent and for the love they show for Venice.”
Colin Firth, another Love Actually alumnus, has already quit Britain for Italy, saying “Brexit does not have a single positive aspect for me.”
Hugh Grant, arguably the rom-com’s most memorable face, is also fanatically anti-Brexit — but does not appear to have considered a permanent move from his home country as of yet.
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