How are Amy Schumer and Chuck Schumer related – and why did they combine forces to hit back against Donald Trump?

Sep 16 , 2024

When Hollywood meets Capitol Hill: comedian Amy Schumer and her cousin, US Senator Chuck Schumer, have found a way to use each other’s influence to make an impact on US politics. Photo: Getty Images

After a mass shooting at a screening of Amy’s hit film Trainwreck in 2015, the comedian decided to join forces with her senator cousin Chuck Schumer

He’s 73 and she’s 42. He’s the majority leader of the US Senate and a senior New York senator. She’s a stand-up comedian who has regularly faced hate over her appearance.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaking about Israel in March. Photo: AFP

Amy and Chuck Schumer are cousins with considerable influence in their own worlds. But don’t think the actress and her politician cousin were having Friday Shabbat together. As it turns out, it was a chance meeting in Central Park years ago that led the two to connect, forming the foundation of their relationship. Here’s what you need to know about their union and how it all began.

Their connection explained

Amy Schumer and Chuck Schumer photographed together after Shakespeare in the Park in 2014. Photo: @SenSchumer/X

The senator’s first cousin is Gordon Schumer, father to Amy, per The Washington Post. Amy was previously quoted as saying she “highly doubts he has ever seen my act”, insinuating that they were never close. But in 2014 the pair bumped into each other while watching King Lear in New York’s Central Park. The senator indeed admitted that he had never seen Amy in action, but said he had planned to go.

A power duo

US Senator Chuck Schumer and comedian Amy Schumer speak at an August 2015 press conference in New York calling for tighter gun laws, in an effort to curb mass shootings and gun violence in the US. Photo: Getty Images

Although they are related, it was only after the Central Park meeting that Chuck and Amy Schumer decided to join forces to champion causes they both believed in. In 2015, the pair urged lawmakers to back a proposed gun control bill. According to PBS, the Schumers held a news conference together in New York, where they detailed a proposal drafted by the politician to enforce gun control. Referring to Amy’s recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, Chuck said “Live from New York: We’re aiming for a change.”

The decision to work together came after a shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, in which two people were killed and nine injured at a screening of Amy’s hit film, Trainwreck. Amy said she had never spoken about gun control but was committed to making it a cause she would continue to fight for. In 2016, Amy called certain US politicians’ refusal to agree on gun-related amendments an act of “cowardice”. Per Politico, she said, “Their dedication seems to be only to dollar signs for their own pockets.”

Schumer & Schumer

Senator Chuck Schumer casting his ballot in the 2022 midterm elections. Photo: @chuckschumer/Instagram