During the ‘90s, there were loads of actors who rose to prominence only to mostly disappear from the landscape shortly thereafter. Fortunately for Russell Crowe and George Clooney, however, both men took Hollywood by storm during that decade and they have remained highly successful ever since. Given the fact that Clooney and Crowe have been major players in the film industry for so long, it would be natural to think they have a lot in common.
Over the years, George Clooney has developed a reputation as being the kind of guy with lots of friends. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that he gets along with everyone in Hollywood as evidenced by the fact that Clooney infamously got into a fistfight with a co-worker in the past. When it comes to Russell Crowe, his reputation is the polar opposite of Clooney’s since the New Zealand Australian has fought and feuded with a lot of people. Unfortunately, instead of becoming close due to going through a lot of the same things in Hollywood, Crowe and Clooney have feuded for more than 15 years. With that in mind, it begs an obvious question, how does Clooney feel about his Crowe feud today.
The Truth About George And Russell's Feud
In late 2013, George Clooney was making the rounds to promote the highly acclaimed film Gravity. During that process, Clooney spoke to an interviewer with Esquire and during the otherwise uneventful conversation, Clooney suddenly brought up his anger at Russell Crowe. As Clooney explained, his issue with Crowe dates back to a time during the late 2000s that Russell randomly called George out while talking to the press.
"He picked a fight with me. He started it for no reason at all. He put out this thing saying, George Clooney, Harrison Ford, and Robert De Niro are sellouts. And I put out a statement saying, 'He's probably right. And I'm glad he told us, 'cause Bob and Harrison and I were also thinking about starting a band, which would also fall under the heading of bad use of celebrity.'"
According to George Clooney, after he put out his statement, Russell Crowe responded to it with great anger. "And that's when he really went off on me. 'Who the f*** does this guy think he is? He's a Frank Sinatra wannabe.' He really went after me. And so I sent him a note going, 'Dude . . . what the f*** is wrong with you?’”
In the aftermath of their original back and forth, Russell Crowe and George Clooney enjoyed a great deal of success in their careers. As a result, it seems like Crowe realized he would be interacting with Clooney at several awards shows. No matter what his reasons were, Clooney says that Crowe tried to make peace by sending George something along with a note. "So he sends me a disc of his music and a thing of his poetry. I think he said, 'I was all misquoted,' and I was like, 'Yeah, yeah. Whatever.'
Clooney’s Current Perspective On Russell Crowe
Many years after George Clooney spoke about his feud with Russell Crowe in 2013, he brought the subject up again while talking to GQ in 2020. During that interview, Clooney proclaimed that he takes pride in picking “good fights” before going on to list some of the times he did just that. For example, Clooney brought up his anger at TV Guide’s tendency to omit ER’s sole original star who was black, Eriq La Salle, from its covers. From there, Clooney had this to say about his issues with Russell Crowe. "Just out of the blue, he's like, ‘I'm not some sell-out like Robert De Niro and Harrison Ford and George Clooney.’ I'm like, ‘Where the f**k did that come from?'”
Given the fact that George Clooney brought up Russell Crowe during a random interview that was published roughly a year ago as of the time of this writing, it seems safe to assume he still holds a grudge. After all, nobody would bring up an incident from more than 15 years ago if they have let it go. That said, Clooney then went on to state that he now likes to watch another star call people out instead of doing it himself.
“I have much more fun watching Chrissy Teigen. Somebody steps into her world and you go, ‘Oh, I wouldn't do that, dude.’ It's so much fun. Like somebody who thinks they're really smart, and you just go, ‘Ugh, dude. You brought a knife to a gunfight.’” If Clooney truly does want to leave celebrity drama in the past, he might be able to let his issues with Russell Crowe behind in the not too distant future.
