More than four decades after he tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in an effort to impress Jodie Foster, John Hinckley Jr. has publicly expressed regret for the pain his obsession caused the actor. In a recent appearance on The Mark Joseph Show podcast, the 71-year-old reflected on the delusional thinking that drove the 1981 attack.
Hinckley’s fixation with Foster began after seeing her in the 1976 film Taxi Driver. He later stalked her while she was attending Yale University and came to believe that a dramatic act of violence would win her attention and admiration. On March 30, 1981, he opened fire outside a Washington, D.C., hotel, wounding Reagan, Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and police officer Thomas Delahanty. Hinckley fired six shots from a.22-caliber revolver as the president exited the Washington Hilton Hotel following a speech to members of the AFL-CIO. One bullet ricocheted off Reagan’s limousine and struck him in the chest beneath his left armpit.
“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,” Hinckley told host Mark Joseph.
“But I was believing those things at the time. So the best outcome would have been a union with Jodie Foster … in this life.”
He said that at the time, he imagined Foster would eventually come to him once the aftermath had calmed, no matter where he ended up. “I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be in jail or the hospital or what. But after things settled down, I had this notion that she was gonna join me wherever I was,” he said.
Looking back now, Hinckley said his message to Foster is simple. “I just wish Jodie Foster well,” he said, as per Entertainment Weekly‘s exclusive preview of the interview.
He continued, “I don’t really see her movies, but I wish her well, and I know she’s doing quite well,” adding, “And that’s all I can say: I just, I wish Jodie well, and I hope she has a good life.”
After the shooting, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1982 and sent to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., for psychiatric treatment. Following decades of inpatient care, he was gradually granted leave to visit family and was later allowed to live outside the hospital full-time in 2016 under strict court conditions.
In June 2022, a federal judge granted him full, unconditional release after mental health officials determined that he no longer posed a threat to public safety. He has since spoken more openly about the irrationality of his past behavior and the long shadow it cast over Foster’s life.
For Foster, the consequences were severe and lasting. Speaking to Interview magazine in 2024, she said the trauma surrounding the case is one reason she may never return to live theater.
“I’m finally able to admit that the one bit of theater I did when I was in college, there was so much trauma involved in it,” said the two-time Oscar winner at the time.
“The play happened in two weekends, and I did the first weekend, and in between the first weekend and the second weekend, John Hinckley shot the president… He shot him in order to impress me, and he had written letters to me, so it was a big moment in my life.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center, or use the webchat at the link below. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
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