The publishers of an interview with Hollywood star Drew Barrymore, which went viral due to dubious sounding quotes and insulting commentary about her romantic history, have apologised.
A passenger spotted the article in EgyptAir's in-flight magazine and posted photographs on Twitter where it quickly went viral, with many questioning the legitimacy of the quotes which were attributed to Barrymore.
The official EgyptAir Twitter originally denied a suggestion that the interview was fake, tweeting that it was a "professional magazine interview conducted by Dr. Aida Takla, former president of the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association)."
However, the publisher now says the confusion was due to translation issues.
Ahram Advertising Agency, which publishes the EgyptAir's inflight magazine Horus, said the interview was conducted in English by Aida Takla, then translated into Arabic and subsequently translated back into English.
"We apologise for any misunderstanding that might be interpreted as an offence to the great artist," the agency said, according to BBC News.
A spokesperson for Barrymore previously said the actress "did not participate" in the interview and that her team is "working with the airline PR team."
The agency went on the say that Barrymore's representatives had agreed to the interview "not knowing" that Aida Takla worked for the EgyptAir in-flight magazine. It is understood the Barrymore quotes were drawn from a press conference.
Ahram Advertising Agency also explained that the controversial introduction to the article, which accused Barrymore of being "unstable in her relationships", was not written by Aida Takla but rather by the editor of the magazine.
"As is generally accepted, the lead is not part of the text of the article. It is a product of the editor's creativity produced on the condition that it contains no information that is contrary to the truth," it said.
"We are about to investigate this by checking thoroughly the source material that the translator depended on to write the interview."
