Former DreamWorks Animation chief and Democratic Party mega-donor Jeffrey Katzenberg dismissed concerns about Hillary Clinton’s health in a brief interview with the Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.
“Hillary is the rock of Gibraltar,” the 65-year-old movie mogul and steadfast Clinton supporter told THR days after the candidate appeared to be held up by aides while entering a motorcade van following a September 11 memorial event in New York City.
“This [incident] was minor and irrelevant,” Katzenberg added. “She remains the single most qualified person to be the next president and everyone here in Hollywood and the rest of the world knows it.”
Concerns about Clinton’s health intensified on Sunday after video of the incident appeared online.
The Clinton campaign issued a statement saying the candidate had felt “overheated” at the 9/11 event, at which Republican candidate Donald Trump also appeared. Later Sunday, Clinton’s physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, issued a statement saying that the candidate had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days before the event.
In a statement Wednesday accompanying the release of additional Clinton medical records, Dr. Bardack said that the candidate had been diagnosed with “non-contagious bacterial pneumonia” and was “recovering well with antibiotics and rest.”
Clinton is reportedly resting at her home in Chappaqua, New York after having cancelled a scheduled fundraising trip to California this week, and was set to resume campaign activities on Thursday.
Katzenberg — who contributed generously to President Obama’s 2012 campaign — is one of Clinton’s biggest Hollywood backers, having attended or co-chaired several high-profile fundraisers in Los Angeles for the candidate this summer, including a $100,000 per-couple dinner fundraiser at the Beverly Hills home of fellow media mogul and billionaire Haim Saban in August.
Katzenberg also co-hosted a $33,400 per-person fundraiser at George Clooney’s Studio City home in April.
The former DreamWorks Animation chief’s net worth was estimated at nearly $900 million as of August, according to Forbes. Katzenberg took home nearly $400 million last month following the completion of DreamWorks Animation’s sale to Comcast.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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