Diane Keaton’s surprising revelation about ‘friend’ Meryl Streep

Actress Diane Keaton was feted by crowds of celebrities last week when she received the American Film Institute’s 45th Life Achievement Award. But that doesn’t mean they’re her friends, the straight-talking star says.

Actually, “I don’t really have any friends,” Keaton told Jimmy Kimmel on his talk show on Tuesday, according to E News and other reports. “Not one.”

Keaton then ran down the list of celebrities who attended her AFI ceremony, which included Meg Ryan, Morgan Freeman, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda, Warren Beatty, Woody Allen, Al Pacino, Reese Witherspoon and Richard Dreyfuss. 

“Some are important, you know? Like Meryl Streep” she said. “That’s an important person.”

“Is she not your friend?” Kimmel asked.

“I love her. But I don’t see her very often. She doesn’t call. But I love her!” Keaton responded.

The same went for Witherspoon, Keaton said, recalling that she’d directed the actress in a TV movie when Witherspoon was 14 and was already clearly a “great talent”.

“Yet still not a friend? Kimmel asked. Keaton replied, “No, not a friend.”

Who did the four-time Oscar nominee count as friends, then? Short and Martin, apparently, while she was most happy to see Allen, because he made such a big contribution to her career; Keaton won an Oscar for her lead performance in 1977’s celebrated Annie Hall, which Allen directed.

Instead of being a gathering of mates, Keaton told The Hollywood Reporter that she considered the award ceremony to be “the wedding I never had and the retirement party I never wanted”.

The 71-year-old certainly looked like she had no plans to slow down, jokingly flirting with Kimmel during her appearance on his talk show and producing a bottle of wine from her handbag to swig from as they bantered.

After hearing that Keaton was surprised that no one ever asked her to marry them, Kimmel said that if he’d been single, he would’ve proposed.

“I think we should finish this bottle of wine and see where that takes us,” he laughingly flirted back.

Do you agree that having lots of acquaintances isn’t the same as having lots of friends?