Kuriier Parts Ways with Author Following "Invented" Clint Eastwood Interview
Newspaper ends partnership with Clint Eastwood writer in Austria
Hollywood & Scandal
In a surprising admission, Clint Eastwood himself has dismissed an interview allegedly conducted by the Austrian Kuriier as "entire fabrication." Although the interview wasn't an outright fabrication, the paper has severed ties with the responsible author.
To celebrate Eastwood's 95th birthday, Kuriier published an interview with the Hollywood legend. Quotes circulated widely, with the text being extensively cited. However, Eastwood got wind of the interview and distanced himself, declaring that he had never given this particular interview. After an investigation, the Kuriier confirmed Eastwood's statement and severed ties with the author in question.
In a subsequent statement, the Kuriier admitted: "Our newspaper aims for the highest quality. When we questioned the article's author, Elisabeth Sereda, we discovered she has a long history in Hollywood, having conducted interviews with major stars for ORF, Kronen Zeitung, and Kuriier for over a decade." However, doubts were raised following an investigation, and Sereda was let go.
A Familiar Face of Interviews
Behind-the-Screen Hollywood"Interviews with stars often involve group discussions among foreign journalists, allowing each to use the conversation for their respective medium or to sell it to various outlets," the statement continues. Sereda "convincingly" claimed that she had spoken to Eastwood a total of 18 times in roundtable discussions."
However, no such interview or roundtable discussion took place this time. Instead, the journalist combined supposed new quotes from previous interviews. This technique, while acceptable for a birthday tribute, became problematic when the production was presented as a question-and-answer interview without proper source recognition. "The Kuriier's high standards require articles to be transparent and properly attributed, which this one did not meet."
While the Kuriier admits that the quotes were not fabricated, they have ceased collaboration with Sereda due to transparency concerns and editorial standards.
Sereda Responds on ORF
Elisabeth Sereda herself spoke out about the accusations on ORF. In a morning interview, she reiterated her claims: "Clint Eastwood has denied giving an interview to the Kuriier, stating that he doesn't know the publication. That's true." Instead, she emphasized that Eastwood provided numerous interviews to the Foreign Press Association, her professional organization. A curated collection for a special occasion isn't unusual.
Under pressure from the moderator, Sereda admitted that perhaps a lack of transparency may have been the issue, but they never represented the interview as "new" or "exclusive." She herself mentioned that she has conducted 14 interviews with Eastwood, the last one before the pandemic.
The severing of ties by the Kuriier is regrettable to Sereda, who had assumed that loyalty and accountability would be respected after years of collaboration. She claims that she had not conducted an interview with Eastwood so close to the deadline.
Moreover, there are now allegations that passages from other Sereda interviews, such as those with Ben Affleck and Jude Law, were taken from conversations with other interviewers. When asked about this, Sereda points out that questions often repeat during a promo day, and that at round tables and press conferences, multiple journalists are present, each with the right to the same content.
Sources: ,
- Clint Eastwood
- Hollywood
- Austria
- Interviews
"Despite Elisabeth Sereda's claims of numerous interviews with Clint Eastwood, the Kuriier's high standards led them to not be able to talk to her anymore, due to concerns about transparency and proper attribution, particularly in the context of entertainment and celebrities."
"Elisabeth Sereda's interviews with celebrities, often part of roundtable discussions, sometimes contain elements from previous interviews, which, while acceptable in some contexts, can become problematic when presented as new or exclusive without proper acknowledgment."
