For years now, there has been an ongoing debate about whether celebrity figures should share their opinions on politics. Katie Couric brought up this hot-button topic in 2004 when interviewing Denzel Washington for Dateline about a movie he was promoting at the time, The Manchurian Candidate, which is based on a novel of the same name by Richard Condon. Considering the movie is a political thriller, it arguably makes sense why Couric asked Washington whether he agrees with the idea that “Hollywood folks should stick to acting.”
“I don’t know what Hollywood folks are, first of all,” he replied to the journalist’s question, per Page Six. “Hollywood is a town that has some stars on the sidewalk. I don’t know anybody from there.”
Couric responded, “OK, all right, well, let me rephrase the question. Are you one of those people that —”
“Ah, there you go,” Washington interrupted. “Am I one of those people? Hmmm, isn’t that interesting?”
“Oh, stop, stop, stop,” Couric retorted, to which Washington answered, “No, don’t stop. I heard what you just said. ‘Am I one of those people?’ No, I’m not.”
When the reporter tried to redirect once again, telling Washington, “No, are you an actor who would rather not —,” the Training Day star shot back, “No, I’m not that either. I’m a human being. My job is acting.”
Written by: Nicki