KATHMANDU, June 4: Kurier, a prominent Austrian newspaper, has suspended journalist Elisabeth Sereda for publishing a fake interview with legendary Hollywood actor Clint Eastwood.
Sereda, who occasionally contributed celebrity interviews to Kurier, submitted what she claimed was an exclusive conversation with Eastwood to mark his 95th birthday. After verifying that the interview was fabricated, Kurier launched an internal investigation into the authenticity of her previous interviews with other high-profile celebrities.
According to reports, Sereda sent the interview to editor Martin Gebhardt, who asked her to revise it eight times. She complied with all editing requests. Once Kurier published the piece, it quickly gained attention-even reaching Hollywood.
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After learning about the article, Eastwood responded firmly, stating that he had never met Sereda and had not granted any interview. He criticized Kurier for publishing the story without proper verification.
Although Sereda holds voting rights for the Golden Globe Awards as a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Kurier suspended her in response to Eastwood's objections and announced that she would no longer contribute to the newspaper.
When contacted by The Guardian, Sereda declined to comment on the matter.
Later, in an interview with Deadline, Eastwood said, "If the newspaper wrote that I turned 95, that's true. But if they say I gave an interview, that is absolutely false."
Eastwood is renowned for his iconic roles in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Unforgiven, and Dirty Harry. He also directed acclaimed films such as Million Dollar Baby and most recently directed and produced Juror No. 2 in 2023.
