The Gist
George Clooney and Amal Clooney are in Venice, Italy for the Venice Film Festival.
On September 2, George accepted the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award, and during his speech shouted out his “badass” wife, a human rights attorney.
“I am at a loss for words to describe how much I love my wife,” the actor said.
George Clooney may have been recognized with a major honor at the Venice Film Festival, but, as he is prone to do, the actor has spent much of his time in Italy gushing about his “badass” wife Amal Clooney.
George Clooney and Amal Clooney on September 2, 2026.
Credit: Getty
On September 2, George picked up the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the festival, and made a powerful speech as he accepted the award—including a shoutout to Amal, a human rights attorney. In his speech, he spoke of working on bringing attention to the 2003 genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and that he “tried to make it very loud for a long time…And then, 20 years later, my wife finally puts some of these guys on trial and gets them thrown in jail.”
“By the way, my wife’s the only person to have ever put ISIS on trial and won,” George said, to thunderous applause (per The Hollywood Reporter). “She’s a badass, and she gets the job done.”
Amal Clooney on September 2, 2026.
Credit: Getty
George and Amal, who share 9-year-old twins Ella and Alexander, have a special affinity for Venice—it’s where they married 12 years ago in 2014. “We have a normal family life, and there’s a lot of laughing and a lot of love, and we’re very lucky, and we’re really aware of that,” George said.
Elsewhere, George said (per People), “I am at a loss for words to describe how much I love my wife. How proud I am of her.” Of their plans while in Venice, the Jay Kelly star said, “We’re going to go out to dinner, and this is a town where you take a boat underneath some little tiny arches and suddenly you’re in the middle of a restaurant that has four tables, and the guy who runs it comes out and sits with you.”
“It’s just a really optimistic, beautiful place,” George added of Venice. “We’re going to go find a fun place to have dinner, my wife and I. She’s going to be wearing a very nice dress, so we’ll have to be careful where we go.”
Amal Clooney and George Clooney in Venice, Italy on September 1, 2026.
Credit: Getty
George has gushed about Amal over the years—and rightfully so—telling Entertainment Tonight, “She’s an amazing human being and she’s caring. And she also happens to be one of the smarter people I’ve ever met. And she’s got a great sense of humor.”
George—who once declared himself a lifelong bachelor—told CBS News that everything changed when he met Amal. “Well, honestly, the truth is, I met this incredible woman,” he said. “You know, Amal is the most extraordinary human I’ve ever met. She’s brilliant and stands for things that matter.”
Amal Clooney and George Clooney in London on May 11, 2026.
Credit: Getty
George Clooney and Amal Clooney in New York City on April 27, 2026.
Credit: Getty
“She is a force for good,” he continued. “And she’s also beautiful and funny and has the greatest sense of humor and is the most extraordinary mother. So I cannot tell you how lucky I feel every day.”
Read the original article on InStyle