Christine Baranski opened up about going viral for “glaring” at Elon Musk at the Met Gala and revealed that she was “actually dissing him” during another point at the event.
The 70-year-old actor recalled the moment when she was photographed staring at Musk at this year’s fashion extravaganza during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Although she said she couldn’t fully remember when the viral moment happened, she had spent a separate part of the evening “dissing him”.
“The funny thing is I have no memory of turning back and glaring at him, but I was actually dissing him as I was waiting in line to go to dinner,” The Good Wife star explained. “I was with someone who was at my table, and I noticed Elon Musk and I went, ‘Oh my God, it’s Elon Musk.’”
She went on to explain that once she saw the Tesla founder, she turned to her friend to criticise Musk for “spending billions” on his aerospace company SpaceX and then remarked how she’s an “environmentalist”.
“I basically said [to my friend], ‘I don’t know how you feel about him, but why is he spending billions of dollars in space when he could be cleaning up the planet?,’” Baranski continued. “I’m an environmentalist. I must have at some point turned back and looked, but I did not pose for that picture.”
Baranski also said that as she has a “low opinion” of billionaires and got to implement that perspective into her final season of The Good Fight. Specifically, she expressed that the show had a character similar to Musk and allowed her to “bash the billionaires”.
“We have our own Elon Musk in The Good Fight. Neil Gross is in the second-to-last episode,” she added. “And I get to bash the billionaires a bit. I’ve added a few lines [to the script], and I actually will include Elon Musk in the final episode.”
At the Met Gala, the Mamma Mia! star walked the red carpet in a black suit and jacket with a white blouse. While inside the event, she was seen staring at Musk, who wore a black and white tuxedo and looked in the opposite direction of the comedian. However, Baranski still appeared to have a look of disappointment and disdain on her face while eyeing the businessman.
The candid image, taken by photographer Sinna Nasseri, of the two famous faces quickly went viral on social media as fans praised the actor for her facial expression.
“Christine Baranski gets it,” one tweeted, while another said: “Imagine becoming a meme during your first Met, she’s so iconic.”
After the gala, Baranski’s daughter gave her mother a framed print of the photo. Baranski’s reaction to the gift was also shared on Twitter, where she could be seen with a smile on her face and laughing hysterically.
