Burt Reynolds kind of let it slip that he’d allowed Sally Field to be ‘the one that got away’ in his life when he was talking to Hoda Kotb of USA Today. In truth it was more of a blurb about how he screwed up their relationship during the time they were dating for five years, but he still got a little weird during the interview. Maybe it’s that he’s 82 years old now, or maybe it’s just because he’s had an odd sense of humor for a while, but he said he fell in love with her when she was just 7 years old. That’s creepy, even for an old man like Burt Reynolds. But despite the fact that Sally Field came from a showbiz family he wouldn’t have had the chance to meet her until she starred in Gidget at the age of 19. At least at that time she was a legal adult, but Reynolds’ comments up that point were just a bit disturbing.
There’s been no chatter on Reynolds when it comes such things as the #MeToo movement or any rumors of sexual misconduct from way in the past, but he’s been kind of an odd guy when it comes to women for a lot of years. Burt has almost always been the ‘man’s man’, meaning that he’s macho, he’s a guy that likes to be in charge, and he’s the kind of guy that gets away with a lot. For instance, during the interview he seemed to get away with a couple of lines about a fictional one-nighter with Hoda that had her wanting to move on with the questions. But he gets away with it apparently because of who he is. How many men has that worked for lately?
If there’s no wrongdoing in his past though the fact still remains that the way he puts things is sometimes a little offensive and just flat out strange. For a lot of years onscreen he’s been the guy that you look to for a good movie and a fun time. But he’s always had that edge to him that never seems to really dull even as age has taken hold of him. It seems to skirt the edge of misogyny in a way, but doesn’t go so fully over the line that you could claim that this is something he suffers from. Instead there’s always been a certain type of arrogance to Burt Reynolds that people have accepted for so long since he is who he is. He’s gotten away with his words for so long because he’s that big of a celebrity and because he’s held that kind of control over the industry for so many years. His reputation has kind of been his calling card and his excuse just for being the way he is sometimes.
That doesn’t always seem fair when he can say certain things and anyone else that tries it gets nailed to the wall, but unfortunately that’s something you’d have to take up with the people he talks to.
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