HTLS 2022: Anil Kapoor quizzes George Clooney about him rejecting $35 million for a day

On day five of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2022, Hollywood actor and director George Clooney spoke with Bollywood star Anil Kapoor.

When asked if it was true that he once turned down a 35 million-dollar check for just one day's work, Clooney responded that he wasn't for sale. The legendary actor has acknowledged turning down a $35 million offer for a single day's work on an airline commercial in 2021. When asked by Kapoor why he made the choice, Clooney replied that it was more of an image makeover for some prisoners.

The Ocean's Eleven actor said that people spend a lot of money for a reason, and most of the time it's to cover something up. There were some amazing folks who were jailed for tweeting about Saudi Arabian women's rights. And these individuals were stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from these same individuals in order to cover it up. Clooney finds that difficult to achieve.

He continued that he finds it difficult to take that money and use his reputation to try and clean up their own mess when their employer is the guy who is also destroying the civil and human rights of the people. The actor's reputation, in his opinion, is worth more than that.

Clooney said that he talked with his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, before deciding to turn down the chance.

He added that his wife and he had a lengthy discussion about taking the money and donating it to a foundation to help others. However, there is a cost, and that cost for him isn't his reputation. What he stands for and what his parents raised him to be are not for sale.

Clooney joined Kapoor via a video call for the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2022, held on Saturday afternoon.