George Clooney to Al-Mawed: I cannot comment on the political situation in the Middle East because it is complicated, but I feel sad for the victims, children and innocents

• I love Lebanese food, especially tabbouleh, and my mother-in-law specializes in preparing delicious Lebanese dishes.
• Family ties are very strong among the Lebanese.
• I dream of being with my wife Amal on a motorcycle and touring the Alps.
• My wife and I may visit Lebanon in late summer.
• My wife and I agree on everything that is important in our lives.

I met George Clooney recently and he was as usual cheerful, frank and spontaneous in his speech. This time I met him and I had with me a copy of the issue of “Al-Mawed” magazine which had a picture of him with his wife “Amal Alamuddin” on the cover. He browsed through it with interest and I asked him how his new life with a Lebanese family was and if he had tasted Lebanese food.

He said:
- Yes, yes, twice I ate Lebanese food prepared by my wife, but my mother-in-law is the specialist in this delicious food. She makes great “Tabbouleh” in very large quantities. I loved “Tabbouleh” and I had an idea about Lebanese food before marriage, but it was a superficial idea. Now I am an expert in knowing this delicious cuisine. I love to cook and I was single for a long time, so cooking is natural for me. I loved Italian food, as I lived in Italy for a while, but Lebanese food is very delicious. When I asked my wife about her opinion of my cooking, she responded with reservations, meaning she did not want to comment on it, and her mother’s response was identical to hers. My feeling of living with many Lebanese was like a family life, as family ties are very strong among them.
I asked him about the political situation in the Middle East and his opinion. He said that he could not comment on the political situation there because he did not understand it. “You see a group with us and another group against us and a third group fighting the other two groups. In the end, you cannot know who is fighting whom. Also, the West has interfered in their problems and the West does not know what is happening there. The situation is very complicated. What bothers me are the innocent children who have been affected by all these difficult things.”

I asked him about the change that occurred in his married life, as he had been single for a long time and had his own nature and system in organizing his life, so he said:
- There was no difference or disagreement with my wife. We agree on everything that is important in our lives. I cannot say that there was any misunderstanding between us. The only thing that changed in our lives is timing. When she has work and she is a lawyer and has an appointment to appear before an international court, for example, I try to change my appointments so that we are together in the same country, and vice versa. For example, I had work in New York City for a short period, so she could change her work schedule to give lectures at Columbia University there. Until now, we have been able to organize our lives so that we are together and do not separate for long periods.

I asked him: Do you see children soon? He replied: “I have no idea about this subject.” Then he continued, laughing: “Don’t you notice how I managed to avoid answering this question?”
I told him that every time I ask this question, he answers me with a funny and humorous answer, but this time I hope he answers my answer, which is that many famous actors have intervened in politics, so will he enter the political arena and nominate himself for the elections? He answered that the US presidential elections are coming up next year, and political life is a difficult life, and he has many friends in politics, and their lives are not pleasant at all. He has his political opinions and he pushes them as much as he can, regardless of being in an official or unofficial position in the country. He also does not want to be indebted to one person or another because he paid and donated an amount to his election campaign, as often happens. Therefore, he defends his opinions and expresses his opinions with complete freedom without being indebted to anyone in the way he expresses and defends his opinion.