John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster, spoke publicly about Foster more than four decades after the assassination attempt. On Wednesday, August 12th, 2026, during an appearance on the podcast "The Mark Joseph Show," Hinckley said, "I just wish Jodie Foster well, you know. I don’t really see her movies, but I wish her well, and I know she’s doing quite well. And that’s all I can say: I just, I wish Jodie well, and I hope she has a good life."

Hinckley, now 71, explained that at the time of the shooting, he was in a delusional state and believed he would spend the rest of his life with the "Silence of the Lambs" actress. He told the host, "I wanted to have like this union with Jodie Foster, and live the rest of my life with her and all these things that, of course, were delusional, but I was believing those things at that time, so the best outcome would have been to just have like this union with Jodie Foster."

The assassination attempt occurred as Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton in 1981. Reagan survived but former White House press secretary James Brady was paralyzed, and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were injured. Hinckley was 25 years old at the time.

It was revealed shortly after the shooting that Hinckley was obsessed with Foster after seeing her as a teenager playing a child prostitute in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film "Taxi Driver." Hinckley believed the shooting would make Foster notice him.

Medical expert Friedman noted that Hinckley had shown no symptoms of active mental illness, no violent behavior, and no interest in weapons since 1983.

Hinckley also commented on the coincidence that the same Washington Hilton hotel was the site of another presidential assassination attempt in April 2026, after a gunman charged through security at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Sources