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Was That Weird EgyptAir Drew Barrymore Article Faked? Hollywood Is Investigating

On October 2, a strange story about an interview purportedly with Drew Barrymore for EgyptAir’s inflight magazine broke online. Readers found certain quotes attributed to Barrymore uncharacteristic and began to question if the entire profile had been fabricated. Now the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is getting involved.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (H.F.P.A.) is likely familiar to most people as the non-profit group that oversees and awards the Golden Globes, but the organization is now in headlines for a different reason entirely.

Last week, a celebrity profile in EgyptAir‘s Horus inflight magazine featuring Drew Barrymore drew viral attention when readers began questioning its veracity. Vanity Fair reports that the article “contained errors and read as though it had been translated multiple times; instead of fawning praise, it was filled with head-scratching burns—calling the actress ‘unstable in her relationships’ and citing her ‘unsuccessful marriages.'” Other parts of the story also run counter to previous public statements made by Ms. Barrymore.

To make a strange story even stranger, the profile was supposedly written by Aida Takla-O’Reilly, who was previously president of the H.F.P.A. The organization, which has encountered criticism over its credibility in the past, is taking seriously allegations that parts of the article may have been entirely invented.

The organization issued a statement thanking Barrymore’s previous “willingness to speak to [H.F.P.A. members]” and noting that “Based on our preliminary investigation, we understand that parts of the article in question were not written by Dr. Takla-O’Reilly and that other portions of the article may have come from other sources.”

Takla-O’Reilly, on the other hand, defended herself on Twitter by stating that while the magazine was authorized to edit her final copy, she stands by the overall content of the article. “This doesn’t negate the fact that the interview with Drew Barrimoor [sic] which took place in New York is genuine &far from fake,” she said.

In the meantime, the H.F.P.A. has issued an apology for “any distress caused to Ms. Barrymore by this article.”

 

Image: Twitter

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3 Comments
M
mhrb October 18, 2018

Are you serious? This was cleared up ages ago.

J
Joan Johnson October 18, 2018

This article is, most likely, going to be a cobbled together based on the prejudices of the author and the editor. The problem is if Drew Barrymore tries to sue then it they will use the "Trump" defence - which is it was lies but they are allowed to tell lies under freedom of speech,

M
Mtothe M October 17, 2018

So someone with a doctoral degree has trouble writing a coherent article - and then claims it's her's because it took place in a real city?