Watch Jimmy Carter talk about that time Willie Nelson smoked weed at the White House (original) (raw)

The new documentary Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President is released Wednesday.

Published on September 8, 2020 12:42PM EDT

In his 1998 memoir, country music legend Willie Nelson revealed that he once smoked a smoked a joint — a "fat Austin torpedo," to be precise — at the White House, after being invited to the residence by President Jimmy Carter.

Now, Carter himself has given his thoughts about the incident in a new documentary called Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President.

"When Willie Nelson wrote his autobiography, he confessed that he smoked pot in the White House, one night, when he was spending the night with me," says the former president in the film, which is directed by Mary Wharton. "He said that his companion, that shared the pot with him, was one of the servants at the White House. That was not exactly true. It actually was one of my sons, which he didn't want to categorize as a pot-smoker like him. There were some people who didn't like my being deeply involved with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan and disreputable rock 'n' rollers. I didn't care about that because I was doing what I really believed and the response from the followers of those musicians was much more influential than a few people who thought that being associated with rock 'n' roll and radical people was inappropriate in a president."

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President debuts in theaters and virtual cinemas on Wednesday. The movie's home entertainment release will follow on Oct. 9.

Exclusively watch the clip of President Carter talking about Willie Nelson above.

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