Fans are dragging NBC Los Angeles through the mud after reporter Robert Kovacik interrupted Dennis Quaid as the actor tried to pack his car to evacuate his Brentwood, Calif., home amid the Los Angeles wildfires.
“Not them interviewing Dennis Quaid while he frantically tries to pack his belongings to evacuate 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭,” one fan wrote on X.
“Truly one of the worst parasitic paparazzi s–t I’ve ever seen,” a second person complained. “It went on for like 20 minutes, this dude harassing Dennis Quaid and being ridiculously inappropriate crossing boundaries and invading privacy while he’s trying to evacuate.”
“It’s like dude, he does not have time to talk. Every second you waste is something he can’t take with him,” another concerned fan noted.
A fourth person suggested that Kovacik acquires “some boundaries.”
The “Substance” actor, 70, was polite while speaking to Kovacik and even used his interview to instruct residents to turn off their gas before they evacuate their homes.
At another point in their chat, he reflected on the lesson that Angelenos were learning as acres of their city burned to the ground.
“Our experience of reality can change in a moment,” he noted.
Quaid said he returned to his home with his dog, Peaches, to spray down his roof and help neighbors if needed.
“We’ve had it lucky,” he went on. “I have so many friends who have lost [their houses.] … We’re fighting as hard as we can to save our city.”
The actor’s demeanor earned him praise on social media, with one fan writing, “this interview was an odd mix of bizarre, comical, touching, and somewhat uncomfortable… but what I learned from it is that Dennis Quaid seems like a very nice fella.”
“I became an instead new fan of Quaid’s,” another tweeted. “What a standup dude (and especially how sweet he was with his scared dog) in such a stressful moment.”
Brentwood is being threatened by the Palisades Fire that erupted Tuesday and has since consumed more than 20,000 acres of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
While Brentwood was originally unaffected by the destruction, an evacuation order went into effect for the ritzy neighborhood and neighboring Encino early on Saturday.
The Palisades fire was 11 percent contained as of Saturday morning and has incinerated more than 5,300 structures.
