George Clooney was asked about the impending divorce of his friends Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie while Clooney was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. A CNN reporter approached Clooney and asked gently — as if not to let celeb gossip intrude on the more serious business of international diplomacy — what Clooney thought of the news. Clooney asked: what’s that?
The reporter had thought he was asking Clooney for a reaction to the news, but instead he was actually delivering the news to Clooney. Informed that the the celeb couple had announced a divorce, Clooney’s measured and genuinely sad reaction really humanized the situation — reminding people (without saying so) that this was happening to real people, flesh and blood, and not just celluloid heroes. “I feel very sorry,” he said, his face showing surprise and sorrow. “That’s a sad story and it’s unfortunate for the family. I feel very sorry to hear that.” Watch it here.
