Barack Obama plays virtual ‘footsies’ with Oprah as he marvels at green screen technology
Former president delighted by quirks of remote interview
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Barack Obama was left flabbergasted after he and Oprah Winfrey were brought together for an interview using green screen technology.
On the latest episode of The Oprah Conversation, the presenter and the former president appear to be sitting in front of the same crackling fireplace, discussing Obama’s new memoir, A Promised Land. In reality, they are not in the same room at all, with Obama speaking from a studio in Washington DC and Winfrey from her home in Santa Barbara.
Due to coronavirus regulations and social distancing rules, the interview was arranged remotely.
In a teaser video, Obama can be seen grinning at the genius of it all, saying: “This is pretty cool technology you’ve got here.” Waggling his legs, he laughs and adds: “We’re playing footsies.”
He continues: “We should have done this in outer space. We could have both been sitting on, like, Neptune, in a bubble.”
The interview is out now on Apple TV +.
In a five-star review of A Promised Land for The Independent, Sean O’Grady wrote that the book is an “elegant, thoughtful memoir from the coolest president America ever had”.
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