George Clooney Is ‘on the Mend’ After Missing Telluride Premiere of Jay Kelly



NEED TO KNOW

  • George Clooney and Amal Clooney skipped the Telluride Film Festival premiere of his movie Jay Kelly, amid a sinus infection he contracted while in Italy
  • Jay Kelly received a 10-minute standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival following its world premiere, as multiple outlets reported on Thursday, Aug. 28
  • George “had to scale back his activities” in Venice due to his illness, as a rep for the actor told PEOPLE at the time

George Clooney is feeling better after missing out on the latest premiere of his new movie Jay Kelly due to his recent illness.

While the actor, 64, and wife Amal Clooney celebrated the world premiere of Jay Kelly at the Venice International Film Festival last week, he skipped the follow-up event at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival in Colorado on Sunday, Aug. 31.

George’s participation was limited at the Venice premiere due to a sinus infection he contracted during his trip to Italy. He and Amal, 47, departed Venice on Friday, Aug. 29, after they premiered Jay Kelly the night before.

George is now “on the mend,” a rep for the Oscar winner tells PEOPLE.

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George Clooney in Jay Kelly (2025).

Peter Mountain/Netflix 


Jay Kelly, in which George stars with Adam Sandler and Laura Dern, received a 10-minute standing ovation when he attended the premiere in Venice with Sandler, 58, and writer-director Noah Baumbach on Thursday, Aug. 28, according to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.

George and Amal attended the premiere and shared a kiss as they took in the applause in spite of George’s illness, which forced him to miss a press conference for the movie held earlier that day.

“As you may know, George Clooney is not gonna be here because he has a bad sinus infection. We think he should be on the red carpet tonight, but he is very sorry he cannot be with us,” a festival moderator said at the top of Jay Kelly‘s press conference Thursday morning.

In response to the moderator’s announcement, filmmaker Baumbach, 55, said, “Even movie stars get sick.”

George and Amal Clooney at the premiere of Jay Kelly during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Aug. 28, 2025.

Daniele Venturelli/WireImage


George and Amal arrived in Venice on Tuesday, Aug. 26, but he began to feel unwell on Wednesday, Aug. 27, and “was advised to head straight home and rest up” before the world premiere, as The Hollywood Reporter wrote.

“Unfortunately, George has a sinus infection and, under doctor’s orders, he has had to scale back his activities today,” a rep for the actor told PEOPLE at the time.

In Jay Kelly, George plays the title character, a fictional famous film actor who embarks “on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey through Europe, alongside his devoted manager Ron (Sandler), according to Netflix.

Baumbach cowrote Jay Kelly with actress Emily Mortimer, who also appears in the movie alongside Baumbach’s wife Greta Gerwig plus Billy Crudup, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Riley Keough, Isla Fisher and Patrick Wilson.

Jay Kelly is in theaters Nov. 14, then on Netflix Dec. 5.

Credit to Nypost AND Peoples

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