Dennis Quaid Stopped By 'Cringe' Reporter For an Interview Amid Evacuating From the Palisades Fire
Fans are calling out a "cringe" NBC reporter for stopping Dennis Quaid in the middle of him evacuating from the deadly Palisades fire in Los Angeles to have a casual interview.
While thousands have been ordered to evacuate since the Palisades fires began to blaze Tuesday, the actor was spotted urgently loading the back of his vehicle when reporter Robert Kovacik awkwardly interrupted him to ask him about his experience.
The Substance actor — who was fleeing his Brentwood home amid the deadly fires — was patient enough to stop and say "Hello, Los Angeles." Seemingly held together, the star simply asked, "What are you gonna do?"
That said, fans couldn't help but call out the reporter's untimely interview as "awkward, embarrassing, and downright rude."
"Tuesday we woke up to this big plume of smoke, and then...umm that was a real exciting day," Quaid, 70, said plainly.
"As far as here and Palisades went up on Wednesday. It came within 150 yards of the house. These guys with their planes came down and put that retardant down."
"Those helicopter pilots, they're incredible ... I can't say enough about the firefighters and the first responders in this town. We got some good ones, good people here. We're fighting as hard as we can to save our city," the actor said in disbelief. "Gosh I never thought I'd say that, but that's what's going on."
Although the Emmy award-winning actor was kind enough to have the exchange alongside his bulldog Peaches, fans were less than pleased about the reporter's lack of courtesy or urgency. "That reporter is cringe. I admire Quaid for being patient with the guy," one fan wrote in YouTube's comment section.
"Dear reporter, he's evacuating, leave him alone," a second poked. "He is outrageously gracious to grant you an interview in these circumstances," a third added. "Oh my gosh!!! This reporter wouldn't leave Dennis alone! How awkward, embarrassing and downright rude! Dennis handled it like the gentleman he is. May God bless you and your family Dennis," a fourth added.
During the interview, Quaid revealed that he and his family were somewhat lucky compared to the circumstances of some of his friends and neighbors.
"We've had it lucky. I have so many friends that lost — my agent, he lost both of his houses. Another good friend over in the Palisades, he just moved into a house and he was renting the other one and he lost both of them," the star explained.
"You can't really hold it in your mind. I think that's the thing that kinda keeps us sane, a little bit," he said of those who will need to rebuild.
Accuweather has calculated estimated total damages upwards of $135 billion in the catastrophic L.A. wildfires, marking this deadly disaster the most expensive in U.S history. That said, insurance companies have pulled the rug from under thousands, prompting fellow actor Tyler Perry to speak out.
"Does anyone else find it appalling that insurance companies can take billions of dollars out of communities for years and then, all of a sudden, be allowed to cancel millions of policies for the very people they became rich on? People who have paid premiums all of their lives are left with nothing because of pure greed," the filmmaker stated in an Instagram post Sunday.
Despite much progress being made in the area, the death toll has shockingly risen to 24, per the Associated Press. Stay in touch with updates regarding the Palisades wildfires here.
