CNN’s Berman After Steamy Interview With Romance Novelist Inspired by Dr. Fauci: ‘I Need a Cold Shower’

CNN’s John Berman was somewhat alarmed after New Day wrapped up a segment with a fiction writer who based the sex symbol of her romance novel off of Dr. Anthony Fauci.

In a recent interview with Washingtonian, Sally Quinn reflected on her 1991 bestseller, Happy Endings, which tells the story of a widowed First Lady who falls in love with a doctor working on a treatment for AIDS. As Quinn spoke to Alisyn Camerota on Monday, she once again confirmed on air that her doctor was inspired by none other than Fauci.

Quinn said she met the real-life Fauci at a DC dinner party years ago while she was looking for inspiration to develop her book’s characters. She told Camerota that she was seated next to Fauci at the event, and “we just sort of immediately got into a very intense conversation.”

“I just found him riveting, and unbelievably attractive, and charismatic,” said Quinn. “I thought he was brilliant. He had an incredible mind. He had a wonderful sort of witty sense of humor, and he was one of those guys who was interested as well as interesting. I mean, he was asking me questions and we just hit it off immediately, and I just thought, wow, this guy — I thought he was really sexy, and you know, he was.”

The interview continued with Quinn giving further praise to Fauci, all while saying that his work with the White House against the coronavirus mirrors what she wrote about the character he inspired in her book. She also commented on how serendipitous it was that she romanticized Fauci when she did, now that his work against the virus has made him a household name.

“I hadn’t read the book since I wrote it,” Quinn said. “I thought my god, I can’t believe I wrote this. It’s so close to what the truth is today.”

After the interview was over and Berman moved the show into the next hour, Berman told his co-host “I feel like I need a cold shower after watching the interview about Anthony Fauci: Sex Symbol.” Camerota laughed as she agreed that “I see him in a new light.”

Watch above, via CNN.