John Hinckley Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, believes he is the reason Jodie Foster is attracted to women.
John tells TMZ that he theorizes his failed assassination attempt in 1981 traumatized Jodie, leading her to turn away from men and identify as a lesbian. He asserts that Jodie’s trauma was compounded by his public obsession with her during the assassination attempt.
He claims Jodie was dating men in the early 1980s and only identified as a lesbian after his assassination attempt. Jodie publicly came out as gay during the 2013 Golden Globes Awards. John states this is the first time he has shared this theory publicly while promoting his memoir, “John Hinckley Jr.: Who I Really Am.”
John has been infatuated with Jodie since 1976, when he first saw her in “Taxi Driver.” He even obtained her dorm number and phone number while she was at Yale University, calling her and slipping poems under her door.
He says he never asked Jodie out because she seemed uninterested, and in his depression and obsession, he believed he could impress her by killing the president.
John felt a connection to Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver,” the character who plots to shoot a presidential candidate after being rejected by his love interest.
In the film, Travis does not shoot the candidate; instead, he becomes a local hero for killing those exploiting Jodie’s character, Iris, a young prostitute, which impresses his love interest.
John attempted to replicate this in real life, believing that if he shot Reagan, he could win Jodie’s affection. He traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in March 1981 with the intent to assassinate Reagan.
He sold two .38 caliber guns to fund his bus ticket and lodging in D.C., arriving at the Hilton Hotel where Reagan was speaking with a .22 caliber revolver.
John was among the crowd outside when Reagan arrived and thought Reagan waved at him, which startled him before he waved back.
He waited for Reagan to exit after his speech; when Reagan passed by him, John brandished his revolver and fired six shots in quick succession, injuring Reagan, police officer Thomas Delahanty, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and White House Press Secretary James Brady.
John believed he would be killed by the Secret Service; however, the crowd turned on him, beating him until the Secret Service restrained him and took him into custody.
He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent over 30 years in a mental institution. John maintains that the jury’s verdict was correct.
John mentions that he has been on antidepressants for many years and is currently taking Zoloft and Risperdal for anxiety.
We reached out to Jodie’s representatives; they declined to comment.
