Richard E. Grant’s memoir A Pocketful of Happiness is brimming with witty and funny anecdotes, as well as controversial ones. One of the things the actor wrote in his book was about the news outlet The Guardian running a headline about his excitement over the Oscars.
The Loki star, when approached by a reporter from the same outlet during an Oscars event, got furious and started raging about a certain news piece to the poor journalist. Years later, he realized his mistake and promptly apologized.
Richard E. Grant Felt Embarrassed After Meeting The Journalist He Scolded At The Oscars
In a post by The Guardian, writer Hadley Freeman narrated how she met Richard E. Grant for the second time at the 2019 Oscars. The journalist shared her disastrous meeting with the Logan star:
“I was covering the Oscars that year and, after Grant lost the best supporting actor award to Mahershala Ali for Green Book, I spotted him, said I was from the Guardian and asked for a quote. He promptly gave it to me with both barrels, raging about an article I didn’t write and telling me everyone on the internet was disgusted with me. I quickly scuttled away.”
Grant was surprised to know that in front of him was the person he berated years ago. The actor expressed his shame and shared how his daughter scolded him for being rude. Taken aback, he said:
“That was you? Oh, the deep embarrassment! I called my daughter immediately afterwards and said what I had said to you, and she was absolutely appalled. She said: ‘You f—king idiot!’ Well, this answers your earlier question about whether I’d ever been bitten by something I’d said. Here’s a living, breathing example: hung, drawn, and quartered as charged. Huge apologies. God!”
Despite not writing the article in question, Freeman shared its skepticism. Grant’s enthusiasm seemed forced and way too much, almost like trying to please everyone. In 2019, after the actor found out he bagged an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, he shared a video of himself saying:
“I’m absolutely overwhelmed. Thirty-six years ago, I rented this bedsit here, and I cannot believe I am standing here now with an Oscar nomination. Ha!”
Fans found Grant’s video amusing, mostly because of the overwhelming news about celebrities completely disregarding their awards like they are nothing but a piece of gold-plated bronze.
Richard E. Grant’s Late Wife Would Have Called Him ‘Idiot’ For His Rude Behavior
In the same interview with The Guardian, Richard E. Grant revealed how difficult it is to go about his life and come home without the person he used to tell how his day went – his late wife, Joan Washington. He jokingly mentioned his second encounter with the journalist:
“What’s tough is no longer having what I call the ‘steering wheel stuff’, the stuff that you talk about at the end of the day, when you call the person you love most in the world and say: ‘Well, I spoke to the person from the Guardian, and oh my God she was the person from the Guardian at the Oscars,’ because I’d want her view on it.”
The host asked what he thinks his wife would have said in response, and Grant promptly replied:
“Maybe: ‘Oh, I’m sure she’s got over that, but you are a complete idiot, and you should have your tongue clamped and tied.’”
That would have been the perfect and iconic response from Washington. In the end, Grant finally said his long overdue apology to the journalist.
Source: The Guardian
