Shouldn't you be dealing with a pandemic? Dr Fauci reveals he is 'taking notes' for his planned memoirs but insists he is not writing them and claims he is media shy in new Disney + documentary
Dr Anthony Fauci has revealed he is making notes for his memoir, but insisted that he was fully focused on combating the COVID-19 pandemic despite a new documentary being made of his work.
Fauci, the nation's top public health official, who has advised seven presidents, told The New York Times that he had no time to actually sit and write his memoir.
The book is not imminent: As a federal official, he will be barred from entering discussions about publishing his memoirs until he quits.
'I'm not completely crazy to think that I'm going to be doing this when I'm 92,' he said.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, is the subject of a new documentary. In an interview to promote it, he revealed he is also writing his memoirs
The documentary shows Fauci as a young clinician, and features him talking about his love of medicine and public health
Fauci is seen testifying before a Senate committee on July 20. His hearings have become increasingly contentious
He told the paper he is focused on 'ending this pandemic, you know, putting it in the rearview mirror, and then maybe taking a deep breath and thinking about retiring.'
His wife, Christine Grady, said that the 80-year-old has not had a single full day off in 18 months and was 'exhausted'.
Fauci spoke to the paper to promote the new documentary, which will air on Disney+ in October.
He said he was a 'modest, humble person' who only agreed to media requests when he thought it might help promote a public health goal.
He conceded, however, that his critics would not believe him.
Fauci said that he told the documentary makers that their following him could not impede his work. The filming started before the pandemic, in 2019, when Janet Tobias became interested 'in this idea of him as a long-serving public servant in an era when public servants aren't particularly valued.'
Fauci said he told her: 'This is not going to be, take one, take two, take three on a movie set.'
The new documentary features home videos showing Fauci fooling around and dancing with his young daughters - who are now adults
Fauci is shown with his family in the film, which he described as 'honest' and 'down-to-earth'
He said he was pleased with the result, describing it as 'an honest, down-to-earth documentary.'
Carolyn Bernstein, the executive who oversaw the project for National Geographic, said the filmmakers 'didn't want this to be a hagiography,' and 'wanted to make sure that we were telling the warts and all story.'
But little time is given to Fauci's critics, who have accused him of a heavy-handed approach to the pandemic and of 'flip-flopping' over mask wearing.
The documentary looks at Fauci's groundbreaking work on the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, and the anger directed at him at the time - contrasting it with attacks on him during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fauci said on camera that there was no comparison between the two groups of critics.
'I cared about them, and they were fighting for a good cause,' he told the paper, of the AIDS activists.
'They weren't fighting for a conspiracy theory.'
Fauci has become one of the most divisive public health officials in the United States
Fauci has been the subject of attacks before, with AIDS activists in the 1980s demanding he do more to help them. He did, and many of his critics from the era now praise him
Fauci is shown in the documentary at home with his wife, Christine Grady
Fauci was strongly criticized for his July 2020 magazine cover, but he dismissed the condemnation as 'a firestorm of the crazy far right'
The Brooklyn-born doctor said that he had little time for 'extreme far right QAnon jerks,' and was angered by threats made against him, his wife and two daughters.
'These people are really getting bad. They're harassing my daughters constantly, which bothers me more than anything else,' he says in the documentary.
He has previously said he found the fame and adoration equally bizarre, and noted that a photo of him by his swimming pool, for InStyle magazine, sparked 'a firestorm of the crazy far right' accusing him of 'trying to be a movie star.'
Fauci's wife said she does not expect the documentary will change anyone's opinion of her husband - despite footage of him at home, with his family, goofing around.
At one point he wells up talking about AIDS patients, and said it was a response to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from dealing with such death and tragedy.
Grady said she did not expect anyone to be swayed.
'I think there are fans, and there are haters,' she said.
'I don't think there's anybody in the middle.'
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