Clint Eastwood’s now infamous speech to an empty chair with an imaginary President Barack Obama during the Republican National Convention has been lampooned and parodied numerous times, but the 82-year-old actor feels like the end result was positive.
Access Hollywood caught up with Clint at the junket for his new baseball movie, “Trouble with the Curve,” where he spoke candidly about his polarizing speech.
“I thought it was a good reaction. It was a good reaction because it antagonized some people… and other people liked it,” he told Access. “You’re not trying to compliment somebody else that has an opposing point of view and you’re not necessarily trying to cater to anyone else… there’s no real reason that people, you don’t have to kiss it up with politicians, they’re working for you. That’s their job.”
The Hollywood legend also told Access that he has no regrets about using an empty chair as a prop during his speech – something which was used as the butt of a joke this weekend on “Saturday Night Live.” (Watch the Bill Hader sketch, HERE!)
“That was just a whim [of] the moment, I had no idea,” Clint told Access. “You have one thought and then you walk out there and then 10,000 people are yelling at you, and you go, ‘Ok, all of the above is gone.’”
“Trouble with the Curve,” which also stars Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake, opens in theaters on September 21.
— Jesse Spero
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