LAST WEEK, OUR very own Ryan Tubridy took to the airwaves to announce that he had received a letter from Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts.
He received a signed headshot and a letter that read:
Hi Ryan, It’s Julia Roberts! One of my personal assistant is Irish and he told me you’re a big fan of my work, especially Eat, Pray, Love. It’s so great to hear I have an Irish fan such as yourself. I’ve enclosed autographed picture. I do hope you like it. Thank you for all your support, Love Julia
The letter and autograph were apparently sent on behalf of Roberts’ Irish personal assistant, a gentleman referred to on air by Ryan Tubridy as both Sean McCormack and Mike McCormack.
At the time, Tubridy explained that he didn’t know if it was a stunt or if it was real, but he shared the photographs on Instagram nonetheless and wrote, “Julia’s assistant is Irish and arranged for this to land on my desk this morning…”
The seemingly random correspondence was covered by many Irish publications including this website, RTÉ, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, VIP Magazine and RSVP Magazine.
This morning, Ryan announced that he had received yet another letter from Julia Roberts’ assistant Sean McCormack. Inside was a letter from Julia Roberts and a copy of Eat Pray Love on Blu-Ray.
But Ryan was sceptical!
I’m not a big fan of the book or the story, and I’ve been saying that for years so there’s some joke going on and I’m wondering if I’ve been Catfished by somebody that’s pretending that they know Julia Roberts.
https://www.facebook.com/theryantubridyshow/videos/1214505445251189/
Ryan pointed to the fact that it was sent once again by Sean McCormack through something called the Creative Talent Agency based on 338 Main Street, San Francisco.
“We’ve checked it up, it exists,” said Ryan. (We have also checked it out and while the street exists, the agency does not.)
Tubridy’s conclusion?
Sean McCormack is either one of the funniest guys in showbiz or he simply doesn’t exist. I don’t know what’s going on there.
DailyEdge.ie decided to go a bit of detective work and contacted Julia Roberts’ publicist to find out whether Roberts has been sending these letters and whether she has an employee named Sean McCormack.
We received a reply from Julia’s attorney at HWHM+F, who confirmed that Julia Roberts is not sending copies of Eat Pray Love to Ryan Tubridy. (Shocker.) Furthermore, she does not have an assistant named Sean McCormack.
We are confirming that Ms. Roberts is not sending any letters and/or autographs to Mr. Tubridy or his radio station, nor does Ms. Roberts have an assistant by the name of Sean McCormack. Hence, it appears that Mr. Tubridy is the victim of a hoax.
So there you have it.
Unfortunately this just raises more questions than it answers.
Like just who is impersonating Julia Roberts and writing to Ryan Tubridy? Why does Ryan Tubridy dislike Eat Pray Love, a winning story about a woman going on a journey of self-discovery, so much? Is this all an elaborate ruse to promote a surprise Julia Roberts appearance on The Late Late Show? (Hey, we can dream.)
Only time will tell.
