George Clooney has it all: good looks, a successful career, and a mosquito-borne tropical disease. Wait, what? Yes, Clooney told Piers Morgan that he contracted malaria a couple weeks ago in Sudan. He seems oddly cheerful about it, though. Watch the clip below!
"I guess the mosquito in Juba looked at me and thought I was the bar," Clooney joked during the interview, which will air on Friday. According to Morgan, this is actually Clooney's second bout with malaria, a tropical disease with flu-like symptoms. Malaria kills millions of people a year in third-world countries, but is easily treatable with a drug regimen. "This illustrates how with proper medication, the most lethal condition in Africa can be reduced to a bad ten days instead of a death," says Clooney, whose rep describes him as "completely over" the disease. The star of The American visited Sudan during the first week of January, as part of an international effort to prevent violence during the war torn nation's January 9 referendum. (The result of the referendum is that the southern part of Sudan has elected to become independent from the rest of the country.) There was great concern that President Bashir, an indicted war criminal, would incite a war between the northern and southern regions. Clooney has been working against violence in Sudan for over four years, and has met twice with President Obama to discuss United States involvement. (See a video about the actor's work in Sudan, below.)
Clooney obviously takes his humanitarian efforts seriously, but was good-natured when Morgan joked about his multiple bouts with malaria. "You don't think President Bashir has detached a detail of sickly, vengeful mosquitos to target you whenever you arrive?" the CNN host asked. "Yeah, I think so," responded Clooney. Morgan later kidded Clooney via Twitter, saying, "Clooney malaria update: now have 24,563 offers to nurse him. But his rep says medication's worked and he's OK. Sorry, ladies." The interview airs Friday at 9pm on CNN. Do you admire celebrities who do humanitarian work? Chime in below!
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