TRUE CRIME NEWSJohn Hinckley Jr. Sends Message to Jodie Foster Decades After Attempting to Assassinate Ronald Reagan in Effort to Impress the Actress
John Hinckley Jr. was infatuated with Jodie Foster after watching her in the 1976 film 'Taxi Driver.'
Aug. 11 2026, Published 4:14 p.m. ET
John Hinckley Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan back in 1981 to try and impress Jodie Foster, dispatched a message to the Silence of the Lambs actress in a rare interview.
Hinckley Jr., 71, mentioned the Oscar winner, 63, during an appearance on "The Mark Joseph Show," which is set to drop in full on Wednesday, August 12.
John Hinckley Jr. 'Wishes Jodie Foster Well'
John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan in 1981.
In a clip of the show shared by Entertainment Weekly, Hinckley Jr. said: “I just wish Jodie Foster well, you know?"
“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," he continued.
John Hinckley Jr. Was Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in 1982
Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
On March 30, 1981, Hinckley Jr. shot at Reagan outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., after the president gave a speech.
The bullet bounced off Reagan's limousine and hit him under his arm. Press Secretary James Brady, police officer Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy were also injured during the incident.
Hinckley Jr. became fascinated by Foster after he saw her in 1976's Taxi Driver, as the movie's main character plots the assassination of a presidential candidate believing it would impress the woman he was crushing on.
In 1982, Hinckley Jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
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John Hinckley Jr. was released from a psychiatric facility in 2022.
He spent over three decades in a psychiatric facility and was released in 2022.
Hinckley Jr. was also asked on "The Mark Joseph Show" what he wanted to get out of the shooting.
“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,” he said. “But I was believing those things at the time, so the best outcome would have been a union with Jodie Foster.”
John Hinckley Jr. Hoped Jodie Foster Would 'Join' Him After He Shot Ronald Reagan
Jodie Foster looked back on the traumatic event in 2024.
“I thought she would, you know, after things settled down, join me wherever I was,” he continued. “I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be in jail or the hospital or what after things settled down. I had this notion that she was gonna join me wherever I was.”
He also noted the Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore alum could have been his victim instead of the POTUS. “As fate turns out, it was Reagan instead of her,” he stated.
Foster recalled to People in June 2024 how traumatic the event was for her, explaining: "It was a huge moment. It was a long time ago. You probably don’t even know, but he shot him in order to impress me, and he had written letters to me, so it was a big moment in my life."
