Forty-five years ago, a man tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan to impress Jodie Foster. Now, he has contacted her again.

On March 30, 1981, at the entrance to the Hilton Hotel, John Hinckley Jr, who had just arrived on a Greyhound bus, was waiting for Ronald Reagan, president of the United States, with a revolver in his hand. He fired six times, wounded him (and members of his cabinet), and was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a later trial. And the only reason to kill Reagan was… to get Jodie Foster’s attention.

Jodie, I love you, Jodie, I adore you

“Although we’ve spoken on the phone a couple of times I’ve never had the courage to come up and introduce myself… The reason I’m going ahead with this assassination attempt is because I can’t wait any longer to impress you“, the attacker wrote to Foster moments before trying to assassinate Reagan. For whatever reason, the actress didn’t return his love. Now, with him free, he has spoken about her again, but in a different tone, thankfully. With no guns involved.

“I simply wish her well, you know? I don’t watch her movies, but I wish her well, and I know she’s doing well. And that’s all I can say: I wish her well and I hope she has a good life“. Better this than going around shooting at just anyone, honestly. It’s not like Foster has exactly been riding high since True Detective, but yes, she’s doing wonderfully.

As for the reason for the assassination attempt, Hinckley, now a free man, has opened up: “I wanted to be with Jodie Foster and live the rest of my life with her and all those things that, of course, were delusions. But I believed them back then, so the best outcome would have been being with Jodie Foster”. She was certainly impressed. Whether she wanted anything more after something like that.