Hinckley Reflects on Reagan Shooting 45 Years Later, Expresses Well-Wishes for Foster

John Hinckley Jr., now 71, said in a recent podcast appearance that he harbors no ill will toward actress Jodie Foster, whom he shot Ronald Reagan to impress four and a half decades ago. During an exclusive preview shared with Entertainment Weekly ahead of the full episode’s Wednesday air date on the “Mark Joseph Show,” Hinckley expressed genuine hopes for Foster’s continued success and well-being.

Hinckley acknowledged that when he fired on the former president in 1981 while in a delusional state, he fantasized about forming a lasting relationship with the “Silence of the Lambs” star. He told host Mark Joseph that his desired outcome at the time involved Foster somehow joining him, regardless of whether his fate led to jail or psychiatric hospitalization.

The shooting outside the Washington Hilton occurred just two months after Reagan’s election and left the president with a broken rib, punctured lung, and internal bleeding. White House Press Secretary James Brady was struck in the head, suffering permanent brain damage and partial paralysis that ultimately contributed to his death in 2014, ruled a homicide. Two additional individuals were also wounded in the attack.

Hinckley was acquitted on an insanity defense and subsequently committed to a psychiatric facility. He was discharged in 2016 and by 2022 lived in Virginia free of court restrictions. In a 2022 CBS interview, he apologized directly to the Reagan and Brady families, as well as to Foster herself for involving her in the violence.

When pressed about whether Foster could have become a target herself, Hinckley conceded the possibility but attributed the direction of events to chance. He told Joseph that “fate went the other way,” resulting in Reagan rather than Foster becoming his victim.