Emily Mortimer must be the worst person in the world
Last night on the Conan (O'Brien) Show actress Emily Mortimer SHOCKED the audience when she announced that she had just become a US Citizen as a tax dodge. You could have heard a pin drop in that audience. She went on to explain how it wasn't very romantic that her husband applied for a British citizenship at the same time to "avoid paying money" and whined at length about how difficult it was to learn 100 questions about the constitution, but wound up moved and crying when a man said that today the US is a better place because she was there. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!!!! She is a horrible, horrible person with very poor judgement to tell that story on air. People DIE to get citizenship here, and she took someone's spot. It's right at the beginning of this interview: http://teamcoco.com/video/emily-mortime ... worst-gift |
|
|
| I completely agree. DISGUSTING. And I would think, a violation of her oath of citizenship. She lied to immigration officials. That can't be legal in any way. |
| Maybe she will be hearing from the government soon...whoever she is. |
| Who is she? |
Well, as someone who has dual citizenship (not for tax purposes, I was basically born into it  ) and a(n also) European background I thought it was pretty funny in a tongue in cheek kind of way. Not well thought out or smart, no  She should have considered her audience. When you think about it, the US would hardly be considered a tax haven, now would it? On the other hand, As the wife of an American she is basically entitled to citizenship and it will make life easier for both her and their kids quite likely. My mom is American and my Dad, who passed away in April, was Norwegian, and they both lived in the US and Norway on a rotating basis and maintained only their "own" nationalities. I'm betting as Mom is trying to deal with "his" (in Norwegian eyes) estate right now she's wishing she had Norwegian citizenship, just for this purpose, and only temporarily. I.e. for paperwork reasons. Well, that and to be able to scream at bureacrats a little more convincingly and authortively, I suppose. My Dad also had some interesting experiences owning his own business in the US, yet not being a citizen, and so on. If you look at it in a strongly patriotic way, yes, of course you'll be outraged. If you're an outsider who is probably perfectly happy with your own nationality and perhaps feeling pushed into doing this for the kids' sake or whatever; well, of course you're going to do it, but you probably aren't going to get all choked up about it. I laughed when she stated that all it took for her husband to gain his British citizenship was pay 400 quid and say God Bless the Queen or the equivalent. I.e. in other cultures this process is not wrapped in as much emotion as it is here. Kristine |
| She is apparently an actress who has no real allegiance to anyone and only worships at the alter of the almighty currency unit de jour, who exemplifies quite a lot of what is wrong with the world today. These interviews are completely outlined prior to taping; Conan rarely goes away from the blue script card he has in front of him. Did she think this would be well received? Will it? Does she think she is a sensitvie person to actually have cried when the guy said that the country is a better place today because she is a part of it? Is it? Joan and I are familiar with her from her role as the secretary to Steve Martin in the Pink Panther movie remakes (2006 and 2009). http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607865/ I don't ask for much in return for running this site. I certainly don't usually send people to facebook. I ask that if you agree with me, at least partially, that you like my status or my comment about this on facebook, and share this story with whoever you can. Please. |
Mad Dog wrote: I laughed when she stated that all it took for her husband to gain his British citizenship was pay 400 quid and say God Bless the Queen or the equivalent. I.e. in other cultures this process is not wrapped in as much emotion as it is here. I think maybe that is because 'we' recognize the exceptional nature of America and US citizenship and treasure it? People give up everything they have including their lives to get here; she stole that opportunity from someone to get money, to pay less than her fair share of taxes to someone, somewhere. Then she made fun of it. |
| I had to look up who she was... I think it's crappy as well and something I'd never share if it were true. I was glad to see that at the end, it did mean something to her Quote: 'It was a tax dodge really,' she told US chat show host Conan O'Brien. 'My husband became a British citizen and I became an American citizen at the same time, so that we could avoid paying so many taxes. I know that doesn’t sound very romantic.' Mortimer, 39, said she found the citizenship process 'exhausting' and almost gave up during the revision process. 'During the whole thing I kept saying 'I don’t want to do this that badly. Why are you acting like it’s such a big thing?'' she said. 'It was just a year of endless questioning. I had to learn 100 questions about the Constitution, I had to have all sorts of medical probes and tests, I had to show photographs of my wedding, I had to talk about how much I love my husband - which was very easy of course. 'I bitched and moaned my way through the whole thing. My husband, meanwhile, all he had to do was pay 400 quid and say 'God Save The Queen'.' But the actress said that when she finally became an American citizen, at a naturalisation ceremony in Brooklyn, New York, she was overcome with emotion. 'I sat through the ceremony and cried. I was so moved finally,' she said. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/peopl ... er-reveals |
Mad Dog wrote: If you look at it in a strongly patriotic way, yes, of course you'll be outraged. If you're an outsider who is probably perfectly happy with your own nationality and perhaps feeling pushed into doing this for the kids' sake or whatever; well, of course you're going to do it, but you probably aren't going to get all choked up about it. I laughed when she stated that all it took for her husband to gain his British citizenship was pay 400 quid and say God Bless the Queen or the equivalent. I.e. in other cultures this process is not wrapped in as much emotion as it is here. Kristine She said she didn't even want to do it. No, I'm not looking at it in a strongly patriotic way. I'm looking at it as she is so selfish that she took the spot of someone who does actually WANT to be a US citizen because it's cheaper for her to live here as a citizen than on a visa. I think it says a tremendous amount about "other cultures" where this process is not so emotional as here more than anything. Look at the numbers of people who leave those countries and come here versus the other way around. How many US citizens a year denounce their citizenship versus how many immigrants apply for US citizenship? |
rdf wrote: [I think it says a tremendous amount about "other cultures" where this process is not so emotional as here more than anything. Look at the numbers of people who leave those countries and come here versus the other way around. How many US citizens a year denounce their citizenship versus how many immigrants apply for US citizenship? I think you're missing the bigger picture. The US is not the only immigration magnet in the world by any stretch, though I suspect as the economic situation here most likely continues to decline it will become increasingly less attractive. People will move towards where the jobs are, where the money is. It happens all over, including Europe, parts of Asia and the Middle East as well. Yes, there is political asylum, but in Europe as well as here, those immigrants are the minority. Most people migrate for economic reasons. Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: rdf wrote: [I think it says a tremendous amount about "other cultures" where this process is not so emotional as here more than anything. Look at the numbers of people who leave those countries and come here versus the other way around. How many US citizens a year denounce their citizenship versus how many immigrants apply for US citizenship? I think you're missing the bigger picture. The US is not the only immigration magnet in the world by any stretch, though I suspect as the economic situation here most likely continues to decline it will become increasingly less attractive. People will move towards where the jobs are, where the money is. It happens all over, including Europe, parts of Asia and the Middle East as well. Yes, there is political asylum, but in Europe as well as here, those immigrants are the minority. Most people migrate for economic reasons. Kristine While people move for economic reasons all the time, that doesn't mean they change their citizenship status. Those are two completely different things. Plenty of people who are from other countries live here without becoming citizens. Plenty of people from all different countries move to other countries without necessarily becoming a citizen. She already lived here. She is already married to an American and had zero deportation risk. Moving here is not the point. The point is becoming a citizen while saying you don't even want to do it, you're only doing it as a tax dodge. |
Joahaeyo wrote: @Joahaeyo; I'm glad SOMEBODY is at least reporting on it. @Everybody; What does it say about her to the Brits? That she'd willingly shed any allegiance to the UK to dodge their or US taxes? What would you think of ME if I became a citizen of say, North Korea or Lybia to save a few bux? What would you think if Donald Trump did it? What do you think of companies that do this? That move to say, South Carolina from Washington State? Or from the US to Mexico to Ireland to China? Or outsource all their phone work to India? I worked for a privately held company that earned $800 million AFTER EXPENSES AND TAXES; I guess that wasn't enough for them as they moved their offices from Boston to New Hampshire and North Carolina and outsourced their computer professionals to India. No loyalty to anyone, and in the end they and their ilk are cutting their own throats. Fidelity Investments by the way, which is(was?) owned by 3 people. How do you feel about that? |
| She should have become a citizen of Greece where the people with money pay off the people who in turn pay off the government collectors to be "missing" on the tax rolls. |
| This is old news here in the UK .As Reported in a paper here in Febuary 2010 :- Mortimer recently became an American citizen, for tax reasons – she was informed of the gruesome fact that if Alessandro died, she as a foreigner would have to pay 70% tax on his half of everything – but she found herself moved by the ceremony. The Irish-American justice doling out the citizenship papers gave a speech saying to all the former foreigners that the best thing about America was that it was made up of "people like you", and, as a result, was a better place today than it was yesterday. "In England immigrants wouldn't be made to feel that they'd changed the country for the better," Mortimer reflects. Has she done right or wrong ?  |
| I assume Allesandro could have willed his estate to their child. |
sixpence wrote: This is old news here in the UK .As Reported in a paper here in Febuary 2010 :- Mortimer recently became an American citizen, for tax reasons – she was informed of the gruesome fact that if Alessandro died, she as a foreigner would have to pay 70% tax on his half of everything – but she found herself moved by the ceremony. The Irish-American justice doling out the citizenship papers gave a speech saying to all the former foreigners that the best thing about America was that it was made up of "people like you", and, as a result, was a better place today than it was yesterday. "In England immigrants wouldn't be made to feel that they'd changed the country for the better," Mortimer reflects. Has she done right or wrong ? For me, this is a matter of personal ethics, integrity and morals. It's quite different to immigrate to any country in order to peruse a better life, than it is for a successful, wealthy person to become a citizen solely to dodge taxes. When I listened to her describe when she was "moved" by the ceremony, I thought she came off quite shallow and my reaction to it was that she kind of sucked as an actress, to boot.  |
Ron wrote: I assume Allesandro could have willed his estate to their child. If they're married it shouldn't be considered HIS estate. Just because one party kicks the bucket and the surviving spouse is not an American citizen, why should she and so by extension their children be penalized? If you kick the bucket should Joan be liable to pay 70% tax on your half of the house? (I'm sure Joan has already looked into this And I'm presuming she's an American citizen so wouldn't be faced with that kind of penalty in any event.) You don't really make things any easier by willing an estate to children just because they are (presumably) citizens unless they are of age. She'd still be up the proverbial feces infested creek sorting the mess out. As my mother is finding out in reverse. At least a number of countries now have tax treaties so you aren't liable for taxes in both countries, but only have to pay in the country where the underlying taxable transaction took place, and in that case you are generally protected whether a citizen of your country of residence or not. Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: If they're married it shouldn't be considered HIS estate. Just because one party kicks the bucket and the surviving spouse is not an American citizen, why should she and so by extension their children be penalized? If you kick the bucket should Joan be liable to pay 70% tax on your half of the house? (I'm sure Joan has already looked into this And I'm presuming she's an American citizen so wouldn't be faced with that kind of penalty in any event.) Kristine I tend to agree with Kristine . |
| You have personal property and perhaps joint interests in property, Your marriage does not singularly define your possessions (nor your credit score). If they own real estate, they might hold it as joint tenants in the entirety, in which they both have an equal interest and ownership of the other's interest upon death, or they might hold it as joint tenants which has no such interest. If I recall correctly. They could also hold the property in a partnership or in some other type of trust or other entity. The rules are the rules; she became a citizen not to be a citizen, but to avoid paying taxes. She was nearly dragged kicking and screaming to the ceremony, in her own account. Apparently she can do this for that reason. I wonder if she would renounce her religion and convert to another in front of family and friends to save on her estate taxes, the majority of which could very likely be avoided through other strategies. Will you be as supportive when all of the billionaires move to another country or to another state to save on taxes? Or a company move from say, Washington State to say, South Carolina to avoid union labor? The older I get the more I want my institutions to have a moral compass and to realize that more than dollars are at stake in these actions. |
| Really? She's worse than mass murderers, child molesters, people who torture animals? Worse than people who kill someone on their fifth drunk driving offense? Worse than those who traffic in other human beings? Really? I don't buy that at all. I didn't see the piece, not being a particular fan of Conan, so perhaps I am missing something. The text of what she said seems like a very tongue in cheek account of her pathway to becoming an American citizen. Most British people I have been acquainted with tend not to wear their hearts--or their flags on their sleeves. Instead, they tend to use a sort of humor to deflect from the depth of emotions they might feel---emotions that she evidently felt, perhaps to her surprise, but felt none the less. How many times do any of us do something for a particular reason, a practical reason, but in the end find that we have deeper, more meaningful reasons for what we do? Example: I am not a particularly sentimental person when it comes to ceremonies. I never longed for the day I would wear a beautiful white dress and walk down an aisle. I never longed for a husband. In fact, I was pretty well convinced I wanted neither a wedding nor a husband. Yet, I found myself standing before a justice of the peace, in the middle of a work day, getting married to a man I loved. It was all very practical and no-nonsense. Yet, I found my eyes filling with tears, even as I searched the printed vows they handed us for words like 'obey'---no reason to start a marriage with a lie. Very practically, I returned to work after the ceremony, but that did not mean I was less committed to my marriage or that my marriage was less important to me than if I had a ceremony in a cathedral attended by hundreds. Except for my in-laws, we have been married longer than any other couple I know. I have no way of knowing for certain why my forebears decided to immigrate to the U.S. Some immigrated before it was the U.S. Based solely on what I know of the family members who were living during my life time, I would guess they immigrated and became citizens for entirely practical--i.e. financial reasons. Which did not stop any of them from serving in various armed forces, being very hardworking, upstanding and productive citizens and raising families who were all happy and proud to be the same. Very little sentiment but a great depth of feeling. Any reading of U.S. history that goes beyond the depth of what we were taught in elementary school will tell you the same: yes, some of the early immigrants from across the Atlantic came to escape religious or political persecution, but many more came for economic opportunity. And there is nothing wrong with that. Do you know Shakespeare's King Lear? Remember Cordelia who professed her love for her father with respect and restraint instead of the overblown, flowery words of her sisters. For this, her father banished her and elevated her sisters. Yet it was Cordelia who truly loved her father and Regan and Goneril, who, despite their flowery language, were only interested in what Lear could give them. |
Ron wrote: Will you be as supportive when all of the billionaires move to another country or to another state to save on taxes? Or a company move from say, Washington State to say, South Carolina to avoid union labor? You wouldn't believe the number of people who move to Alaska, stay her only long enough to have legal residency, then move out but KEEP their residency so they can still get a Permanent Fund Dividend each year.  |
ravenmoonart wrote: Ron wrote: Will you be as supportive when all of the billionaires move to another country or to another state to save on taxes? Or a company move from say, Washington State to say, South Carolina to avoid union labor? You wouldn't believe the number of people who move to Alaska, stay her only long enough to have legal residency, then move out but KEEP their residency so they can still get a Permanent Fund Dividend each year. But they create a lot of jobs in Alaska, right? |
tgir wrote: ravenmoonart wrote: Ron wrote: Will you be as supportive when all of the billionaires move to another country or to another state to save on taxes? Or a company move from say, Washington State to say, South Carolina to avoid union labor? You wouldn't believe the number of people who move to Alaska, stay her only long enough to have legal residency, then move out but KEEP their residency so they can still get a Permanent Fund Dividend each year. But they create a lot of jobs in Alaska, right? Who? The pseudo residents? Not so much  Plus, the point of the Permanent Fund is for people to spend it up here, therefore stimulating the local economy. |
tgir wrote: Really? She's worse than mass murderers, child molesters, people who torture animals? Worse than people who kill someone on their fifth drunk driving offense? Worse than those who traffic in other human beings? Really? I don't buy that at all. I didn't see the piece, not being a particular fan of Conan, so perhaps I am missing something. Of course she is not literally the worst person in the world, and perhaps you could watch the clip. Ron wrote: It's right at the beginning of this interview: http://teamcoco.com/video/emily-mortime ... worst-gift |
| She's on Conan O'Brien, for heaven's sake. You know: where Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (whom I find very funny and fortunately don't actually have to watch Conan to see). She was there to promote herself in a breezy, light hearted/light headed way that all pretty young actresses are to do. She was there to showcase her British accent and her wry, self deprecating British sense of humor. She wasn't there to wrap herself up in anybody's flag or to sooth anyone's patriotic needs. Saving money or not, I think it would be imminently practical for both spouses to have dual citizenship, particularly if there are or will be children involved. You realize, don't you, that there are quotas for immigration, depending on where you are from and what your education, skills, prospective employment are, right? I don't think it's all that hard to immigrate from England to the U.S., especially if you are a) well to do b) married to a U.S. citizen c)likely to be well employed. She didn't take anybody's 'place.' |
tgir wrote: You realize, don't you, that there are quotas for immigration, depending on where you are from and what your education, skills, prospective employment are, right? You realize that a quota is a limit, right? There is a global limit, and there is a country limit. Each country can send no more than 7% of the global limit so they don't monopolize the inflow. BUT there are no limits for spouses of citizens. But a spousal immigrant takes away 1 open global slot. Now, the limits for other relatives has a floor; so between spousal immigration and relative immigration there are basically or almost no more slots available. I think there may be slots for technical workers that are floored as well, but I'm not sure and I ain't reading it tonight.... She didn't take anybody's 'place.' Spouses (even ones who don't want to be doing it) get bumped up to the head of the line  without limitation and therefore bump someone else down who is not a spouse of a citizen. But that's OK... the little people are used to getting trampled by the British aristocracy, right? http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/31352.pdf Go down to about page 7 where they talk about the quotas. When you get to page 14 you can read that the wait right now (actually as of 2004) is up to 22 years  depending on country and under what program you're applying since spouses get priority treatment  and relatives get secondary treatment and then "others" get the rest of the quota. But she got to save her inheritance taxes I guess. All is good.  I just don't know HOW the US would get along without an ungrateful voiceover artist.  |
| Historically, certainly a very large proportion of people who have immigrated to the U.S. have done so for very practical--and very financial reasons. Re: your link (CRS 2, under Worldwide Immigration Levels): It also says that the established ceiling limit of 675,000 legal permanent residents is flexible (emphasis mine) and that a large proportion (480,000) are reserved for family preference (i.e. immediate family members, including spouses) PLUS more from 'unused' categories. In other words, the U.S. gives very heavy preference to immediate family members of citizens. I would imagine that most foreign national spouses of U.S. citizens decide to become U.S. citizens for practical reasons and with no intention of bumping someone else further down the line. If you would like to make the argument that they should not 'bump' anyone in line to a later position, I'll agree wholeheartedly. |
Ron wrote: Spouses (even ones who don't want to be doing it) get bumped up to the head of the line without limitation and therefore bump someone else down who is not a spouse of a citizen. But that's OK... the little people are used to getting trampled by the British aristocracy, right? <snip> But she got to save her inheritance taxes I guess. All is good. Nope, only if her husband croaks. Otherwise it really doesn't matter. Maybe it's a sign the US needs to take a look at a grossly discriminatory tax law. Then perhaps we won't be "innundated" by reluctant European citizens feeling pressured to add US citizenship to their resume Why are we not upset about her husband taking away from some potential UK immigrant wannabe? He's apparently in any event the one who pressured her to live in the US for work reasons - job opportunities are no doubt better for him, especially, here. One senses she would have preferred to stay home in the UK, but those are the kind of uncomfortable sacrifices inter-national spouses have to make - I've seen this, up close and personal, my entire life - and it gets even more complicated when you have kids. Moral of the story? Don't marry an American. Or: you can marry an American, but we really don't want you and won't treat you equally under the law. One of the things nobody's touched on, but which used to enrage my late father, was that he was good enough as a legal alien to pay taxes, but had no representation. (The main reason for the American revolution, was in not? Some kind of irony there, methinks ) Legal aliens cannot vote. My Mom, in contrast, living and working in Norway and married to a Norwegian citizen could vote in local elections in Norway when in residence, but not national ("federal") ones; not perfect, but a compromise of sorts. Some democracies are apparently more democratic than others. Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: Why are we not upset about her husband taking away from some potential UK immigrant wannabe? KristineOr all the free benefits he is now entitled too, that the UK tax payers have payed for, that he hasn't paid a penny towards Ron wrote: But that's OK... the little people are used to getting trampled by the British aristocracy, right?  |
| There is a 'ceiling' (as opposed to 'quota') limit for how many immigrants from any one nation (with some exceptions) can immigrate per year. England does not come close to hitting that ceiling. She's not keeping any other British citizen from immigrating to the U.S. if they wished to do so. |
Mad Dog wrote: One of the things nobody's touched on, but which used to enrage my late father, was that he was good enough as a legal alien to pay taxes, but had no representation. (The main reason for the American revolution, was in not? Some kind of irony there, methinks The whole point of this discussion is this one woman's statement that she did not want to be a US citizen, and only did it as a "tax dodge". She clearly has no care in the world as to whether she could vote here. ) Legal aliens cannot vote. My Mom, in contrast, living and working in Norway and married to a Norwegian citizen could vote in local elections in Norway when in residence, but not national ("federal") ones; not perfect, but a compromise of sorts. Some democracies are apparently more democratic than others. I don't believe we have the full scope of the tax implications as they pertain to this situation. I doubt seriously it is limited to when her husband dies. Mad Dog wrote: Why are we not upset about her husband taking away from some potential UK immigrant wannabe? Not my place since I'm not a UK citizen. But my opinion is If he is not paying taxes there and is utilizing public services, then that is just as wrong. I have no knowledge of any of those specifics. |
| No, I went back and listened: she did not say she did not want to become a U.S. citizen. She said she and her husband each took their spouse's nationality to avoid estate taxes and that in the course of the year long questioning, etc, she wondered why she had to go through all that because she " didn't want to do this that badly" --not at all, but not that badly. Which would be a not unusual feeling when you are being made to do ask endless questions, some of which are deeply personal and especially when your spouse became a citizen of Great Britain with comparative ease. I get it completely. In the middle of something arduous or even just pretty annoying, how many times a day do we ask yourselves whether we really want to do (whatever) that badly? |
| Besides being seemingly devoid of personality, she's also a terrible actor. Watch "Chaos Theory" if you need proof. She made me cringe with her attempts to "emote". She actually made Ryan Reynolds look really, really good. Oh, wait. Okay, I understand why she gets hired now. Although Ryan Reynolds has been looking pretty darn good since he stopped shaving his eyebrows. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|