Katharine Hepburn: I Am Not A Goat

Interview with Katharine Hepburn

Conducted by James Grissom

New York City

1990

I don't get offended any longer. Not at all. I mean about myself. I get offended for other people and for things that are done to this country, to institutions. I get outraged when people of honor and talent and integrity are treated shabbily. I get outraged by things like that, but the only remedy is to support those people, to tell other people they're stupid if they don't pay attention to certain things. I like to campaign for the right things. I still have that passion.

Things contract and crystallize as you get older, and you--or I--care about a very select and small group of things. Friends and causes that are dear to you. You want--I want--to live the right kind of life, do the right things. Tell the truth. Work hard. Stand up straight. Avoid gossip. I want to hear who and what is fascinating. I loathe gossip. Gossip is the garbage the goats of the world root around in to get a little excitement. A lot of people are just goats.

I am not a goat.

© 2017  James Grissom