Celebrities, especially film actors, are often idolized by young minds. Their loyal fans appreciate their work and celebrate their success. However, one of the darkest and most dangerous sides of fame is also stalkers, whose obsession can take a disturbing turn. One such harrowing incident from the 1980s involved Jodie Foster that left the entire nation shocked. 

A man named John Hinckley Jr. had been stalking then-18-year-old Jodie Foster. His obsession eventually led to one of the most terrifying assassination attempts. Nearly 45 years after the incident, Hinckley Jr. shared a message for Foster.

John Hinckley Jr. appeared on The Mark Joseph Show for a rare interview. He recalled his 1981 attempt to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, which he carried out in an effort to impress Jodie Foster. Before discussing the incident, however, Hinckley Jr. had a message for the actress.

“I just wish Jodie Foster well,” Hinckley said. “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 is just, I wish Jodie well, and I hope she has a good life.”

Hinckley had been stalking the actress while she was a student at Yale University. In a press conference in 1981, Foster revealed that Hinckley had written several letters to her. She said she was very scared and “frightened” by the entire incident. During the Mark Joseph Show, as exclusively revealed by Entertainment Weekly, Hinckley said that one of the best outcomes that he had hoped to happen after the incident was his union with Foster.

“I wanted to have a 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 the time, so the best outcome would have been a union with Jodie Foster.”

As per Entertainment Weekly, Mark Joseph, who interviewed Hinckley, is also a producer of the film Reagan. Following its official release in 2024, a director’s cut of the film is set to receive a theatrical release on September 25, 2026. The film starred Dennis Quaid, Tommy Ragen, David Henrie, Penelope Ann Miller, and Jon Voight.

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While the film had a glimpse of the incident, here is what actually happened at the time.

The incident took place on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots from his Röhm revolver at President Ronald Reagan as he exited the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Several members of Reagan’s staff and Secret Service agents were injured during the attack, while one of the bullets ricocheted off the president’s limousine and struck Reagan in the chest. Hinckley was reportedly inspired by Martin Scorsese's film, Taxi Driver.

Just seconds into the shooting, Hinckley was tackled by labor official Alfred Antenucci and Secret Service agent Dennis McCarthy. Hinckley was later tried in federal court but was found not guilty on all 13 charges by reason of insanity. He spent more than 30 years in a psychiatric facility before being released in 2022.

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