Katie Couric Recalls Awkward 'Dateline' Interview That Left Her 'Shaken' And 'Uncomfortable'

Over the years, "Dateline" has continued to keep the audience's attention as they have investigated a variety of murder cases and interviewed a range of celebrities. Now, former "Today" host Katie Couric is speaking out about an "uncomfortable" interview she had with Denzel Washington while on the NBC show back in 2004.

On a new episode of the "Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino" podcast, Couric was asked if she had ever left an interview where she felt they had "bamboozled" her a little bit.

After saying she would have to think about that, she added that she has conducted other "uncomfortable" interviews, which led to the discussion about Washington.

READ: 'Dateline' History Examined: Hosts, Past Stories, Executive Producer Speaks About Show's Longevity

At the time, the two had been speaking about the 2004 remake of "The Manchurian Candidate." However, the journalist revealed that she believed he had "totally misconstrued" one of her questions, which led to the awkward interaction.

In the specific interview, Couric had asked the "Training Day" star how he feels about some people saying that "Hollywood folks should stick to acting." This prompted the Academy Award winner to say he didn't know what she meant by that phrase.

To that, the "Dateline" personality said, "Okay, all right, well, let me rephrase the question. Are you one of those people that—"

Washington then cut her off, saying, "Ah, there you go. Am I one of those people? Hmmm, isn't that interesting?" A transcript of the conversation can be read in full on NBC News' website.

During the new installment of the podcast, Couric also elaborated about how she felt after the exchange.

"I just remember leaving it and thinking, ‘God’ … I don’t think I said anything wrong … I don’t know what happened. Anyway, I think he must have been having a really bad day, because he later wrote a big check to my colon cancer organization, which I thought was super sweet," she told the podcast host.

She then added, "I love him. I admire him so much, he’s one of my favorite actors, but I remember walking out really feeling kind of shaken that he had kind of gone after me in a way that was completely weirdly uncalled for."

New episodes of "Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino" can be found on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.