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Actor George Clooney reportedly expressed frustration towards an MSNBC producer working on the program ‘Morning Joe’ after host Mika Brzezinski suggested that former President Barack Obama may have inspired Clooney’s recent op-ed addressing President Joe Biden.
In July 2024, Clooney published a guest essay in the New York Times urging Biden to reconsider his candidacy for the 2024 election, mere weeks after he had raised substantial funds for the Democratic candidate.
This intense encounter between the unnamed MSNBC producer and Clooney was highlighted by Biden biographer Chris Whipple in his upcoming book titled ‘Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History.’
Independent journalist Tara Palmeri shared an excerpt of the book that detailed the incident on her Substack, ‘The Red Letter,’ earlier this week.
The segment on ‘Morning Joe’ that ignited Clooney’s anger involved Brzezinski’s insinuation that Obama played a role in Clooney’s decision to write the NYT op-ed urging Biden to exit the presidential race.
Brzezinski stated, ‘This wasn’t George Clooney.’ She continued, ‘I think that Barack Obama has a lot of influence.’
These comments provoked Clooney, who reportedly confronted the producer with fury. Whipple recounts that Clooney shouted, ‘How the f— could you let her link me with Barack Obama saying he made me write the op-ed?’
After the producer denied any involvement in the segment, Clooney escalated his outrage, questioning the producer’s allegiance to him by exclaiming, ‘You f—– me… You’re my friend. You should have stood up for me.’
The producer retorted, ‘George, this is not a f—— movie. There’s no script. It’s just not a movie where you go script page to script page.’
Clooney’s anger was palpable when he replied sharply, ‘F— you!’ This prompted the producer to respond with, ‘F— yourself!’
According to Whipple’s recounting of events, the initial phone call concluded there, only for Clooney to ring back and continue his tirade against the producer.
The producer did not hesitate to share his honest opinion, stating, ‘This is a morning talk show on a cable channel. Nobody gives a f— if we say he should get out or if he should stay in. Nobody f—— cares. It’s skywriting. It’s f—— gone. George, I told you before, we’ll try and take care of it tomorrow morning. I promise you.’
Despite the heated exchanges, Clooney again voiced concerns about the producer’s loyalty, questioning, ‘I don’t know whether I trust you.’
This reaction did not sit well with the producer, who retorted, ‘Well f— you. If you don’t trust me, stop f—— calling me.’
In a previous interview in February, Clooney acknowledged that the media had failed to adequately cover Biden’s fitness for office.
Speaking with Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, Clooney criticized Biden for attempting to conceal his ‘incapacities’ and stated, ‘the media, in many ways, dropped the ball.’
Reflecting on a moment when Obama escorted Biden off the stage during a fundraiser in Los Angeles in June 2024, Clooney noted, ‘I saw him for hours a year earlier at the Kennedy Center, and I saw someone much less sharp.’
Dowd remarked that the experience left Clooney feeling ‘gobsmacked.’
Requests for comments from representatives of MSNBC and George Clooney have gone unanswered by Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ Kristine Parks and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
