Katie Couric is opening up about a strange interview with Denzel Washington that left her feeling "shaken" and "uncomfortable."
The 63-year-old journalist recounted the bizarre exchange with the actor on the "Everything Iconic With Danny Pellegrino" podcast. She recalled chatting with Washington about his film "The Manchurian Candidate" when the conversation suddenly derailed.
During the 2004 “Dateline" interview, Couric asked Washington whether he thought "Hollywood folks should stick to acting," according to Fox News.
"I don’t know what Hollywood folks are, first of all," he replied. "Hollywood is a town that has some stars on the sidewalk. I don’t know anybody from there. So, I don’t — that’s like saying — calling you a ‘type’ of folks. I’m not a Hollywood folk. I don’t know who they are."
Taken aback, Couric tried to pose her question in a different way.
"Are you one of those people that —" but Washington quickly interrupted her.
"Ah, there you go. Am I one of those people? Hmmm, isn’t that interesting?"
"Oh, stop, stop, stop," Couric said.
"No, don’t stop. I heard what you just said. 'Am I one of those people?' No, I’m not," Washington continued.
Couric tried to smooth the tension by rephrasing her question again.
"No, are you an actor who would rather not —" but Washington again interjected.
"No, I’m not that either. I’m a human being. My job is acting."
During the podcast, Couric said Washington's response was "weirdly uncalled for."
"I think he totally misconstrued a question I asked and kind of jumped all over me," she said. "It was so uncomfortable because he was doing it with Meryl Streep."
Couric left the interview convinced she had not said or done "anything wrong" and was confused as to what had happened.
"I think he must have been having a really bad day because he later wrote a really big check to my colon cancer organization, which I thought was super sweet," she said. "I love him, I admire him so much. He's one of my favorite actors, but I remember walking out and feeling really kind of shaken that he had kind of gone after me in a way that was completely, weirdly uncalled for."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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