Hugh Grant's Phone-Hacking Testimony
As if the whole phone-hacking scandal in Britain needed more cinematic flair, the Parliament's inquiry committee is interviewing actor Hugh Grant, who believes his voicemail was hacked. Here are some of the choice quotes making the rounds on Twitter:
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Grant theorizes about tabloid journalism: "The classic tabloid technique to cover up an egregious breach of privacy is to wrap it up in a rather nice story." He refers to a tabloid piece that shared his private medical records that was "deliberately dressed that up as an article about how undiva-ish I was.".
"We're going to be hearing from Mr. McMullen as well - - Good luck!" said Grant, referring to the former News of the World editor, tweets Lorna Cooper.
"'If someone like me called the police, the chances are a photograher or reporter would turn up before a policeman," tweets Susan Grossman.
"It was not ideal circumstances, I was dressed as a cannibal at the time," said Grant, on how he discussed the wording of a press statement while on set Germany, is getting a ton of positive reaction of Twitter. "Grant treating Leveson inquiry as if he's entertaining people with anecdotes on a chat show," writes Sunday Mercury movie and TV critic Roz Laws.
Grant talks about how the media learned what the inside of his apartment looked like in 1995: "The front door had been shoved off its hinges. Nothing had been stolen, which was weird... Shortly after that a detailed account of what the interior of my flat looked like appeared in one of the papers. I remember thinking who told them that - was that the burglar, or was that the police?"
Grant on his first big hit: "Following success of Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994, the press was favourable but then it plummeted. The nation liked having a film that was popular and funny and doing very well all over the world and I got a little blip of positive press on the back of that. There was a great deal suddenly in my private life, particularly in the beginning, the premier of that film."
"The reason they can't find a picture of my new German girlfriend is because I haven't got one." Grant goes on to say a newspaper used ended up using an image of him with a woman he wasn't dating for their story.
"Backstage you said you'd give me straight balls. If these are your straight balls I'd hate to see your googlies," said Grant to an inquiry lawyer. The actor had asked if he'd be "fair" with News International, hoping to get the same treatment during his testimony. A "googly," in case you're wondering, is a Britishism for a difficult-to-answer question.
Tweeters are loving this one: "I wasn't aware I traded on my good name. I've never had a good name. I'm a man who was arrested with a prostitute and still made money."
A live feed of the testimony from The Guardian is below.
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