In 1933, King Kong climbed New York City’s Empire State Building, which has a roof height of 1,250 feet (1,454 feet with the antenna).
And yet, the misunderstood beast still ain’t got shit on veteran journalist Katie Couric, who managed the greatest reach since the Michael Jordan Space Jam climax. Couric recently appeared on the Everything Iconic With Danny Pellegrino podcast, where she recalled the time she spoke with Denzel Washington on Dateline during his Manchurian Candidate press tour. During the podcast interview, Couric said the interview made her feel “uncomfortable.”
As the film’s premise was political, Couric asked Washington about the significance of actors making commentary on political issues, which is sort of an evergreen discussion, especially under this current administration.
What happened next? Well, CNN broke it down a little something like this:
“Denzel—are you—do you feel—you know some people say Hollywood folks should stick to acting,” Couric asked.
“I don’t know what Hollywood folks are, first of all,” Washington responded. “Hollywood is a town that has some stars on the sidewalk. I don’t know anybody from there.”
He added, “I’m not a Hollywood folk. I don’t know who they are.”
Couric tried to reframe the question a few times, including asking him, “Are you an actor who would rather not...” but Washington cut her off.
“No, I’m not that either,” he said. “I’m a human being. My job is acting.”
In her recounting of the 2004 interview, Couric said Washington “totally misconstrued a question I asked and kind of jumped all over me.”
“I don’t think I said anything wrong,” she noted. “I don’t know what happened.”
“I love him, I admire him so much,” Couric added. “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.”
Okay here’s the thing: During the podcast, Couric admitted that she figured Washington was having a bad day and that he later donated a generous amount to her colon cancer foundation. So, if she was able to come to that logical conclusion…why the fuck is she bringing up old shit again? I must admit, when I saw his name trending, I went through the typical stages of social media shock and eventually ended up feeling like the Twitter-popular Denzel Washington meme.
“Oh, it’s just a white woman, white-womaning,” I thought. But soon after that sigh of relief, I became quite irritated because this shit happens all the time.
Needless to say, Black Twitter was not amused by her Karen kerfuffle.
The Root has reached out to Denzel Washington’s team for comment.