EgyptAir is digging it, insisting it’s bizarre “interview” with Drew Barrymore in this month’s Horus in-flight magazine actually occurred.
If you missed my story on this earlier in the week, you can read all the juicy details here. The article made several questionable references about gender roles, weight, and Barrymore’s past relationships. Most importantly, a Barrymore spokesman asserted that the interview never occurred.
But EgyptAir insists that the Aida Takla interview did occur:
The interview is real, and she conducted it.
Takla even issued a video statement insisting she interviewed her several times and that “I saw her grow up before my eyes. She is charming and talented.”
Lost in Translation?
Amal Fawzy, the editor of Horus magazine, admits there were issues with the story, but the problem was translators, not a fabricated interview. Ms. Fawzy promised that future interviews would be translated more literally. Perhaps that is the issue? I still do not think so.
What I Think Happened
I tend to think that an extended conversation, perhaps over decades, occurred. Ms. Barrymore and Ms Takla likely know each other, as Takla once served as president of the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association). She’s also a voting member for the Golden Globes (i.e. she’s a real journalist). I’m just not sure sure Takla and Barrymore actually sat down for a pre-arranged EgyptAir interview. This interview likely represented nuggets of conversation shared over an extended time period, with a healthy dose of filling in between the lines…
CONCLUSION
In a world of fake news, it’s nice to have a “fake news” story related to travel without all the serious consequences. I hate to be misrepresented by others, so this story makes me sympathetic to Barrymore. In any case, EgyptAir is not backing down.
The first sentence of your post alone demonstrates how badly proofreading is needed.