It's good to have back-up! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most notable instances in which celebrities defended their co-stars against rude, awkward or downright inappropriate interview questions and comments.
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00:00You eat a lot of green things."
00:05Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most notable instances
00:09in which celebrities defended their co-stars against rude, awkward, or downright inappropriate
00:14interview questions and comments.
00:16Are you or are you not Izzy? Izzy, honey, I don't know.
00:20Girl, you changed just in the middle of that sentence.
00:2410. Josh Hutcherson
00:26Back in August 2014, Hollywood was rocked by a hacking scandal that saw private pictures
00:31of several female celebrities being leaked online.
00:34I think all that stuff is so ridiculous, and, you know, people,
00:37we're people too, man, we just want to live, we want to be normal people.
00:40One of the biggest names affected was Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence.
00:44When asked about the leak in an interview with ET Canada,
00:46Lawrence's Hunger Games co-star, Josh Hutcherson, immediately came to her defense.
00:51I hate the way that the world kind of views those sort of issues, and it's just,
00:54it's really, truly not fair. I mean, we're actors, we're not,
00:57we didn't get into this because we wanted scandal.
00:59Hutcherson slammed the scandal as ridiculous, saying that such a breach of privacy was
01:03totally unfair to her and the other victims. Having experienced a photo leak of his own
01:08the previous year, Hutcherson knew exactly how it felt,
01:11and stressed that celebrities still have a right to privacy, even if they're in the public eye.
01:16I started when I was 9 years old, she started when she was like 12. Like, you know, we didn't
01:19choose to have public scandal, we chose to become artists of acting,
01:23and I love making movies, and this is what I can do.
01:259. Zoe Saldana
01:27Today, she is one of Hollywood's highest-grossing actors,
01:30famous for starring in some of the biggest blockbusters of all time.
01:33But back in the day, Zoe Saldana got a major career boost,
01:37acting opposite Britney Spears in the 2002 comedy-drama Crossroads.
01:42I look like her, you know? I have her eyes and her hands.
01:50It's her loss, Lois.
01:52Over a decade later, Saldana still had her former co-stars back when she appeared on Bravo's Watch
01:57What Happens Live. When a fan called in with a snarky question about a leaked recording of Spears
02:03singing without autotune, Saldana didn't miss a beat.
02:06Have I, have I heard one of her singles without...
02:09They released a song recently without autotune.
02:13Oh, okay. Well, that's mean.
02:14She called out the question as mean, reminding everyone
02:17that many singers also use vocal enhancements. She went on to praise Spears for her humility,
02:22describing her as someone she deeply admires and respects.
02:26And I do believe that people and children gravitate to good energy,
02:30and she's definitely an abundance of that.
02:338. Tyler Perry
02:35By the time Why Did I Get Married hit theaters, it had been three years since Janet Jackson's
02:40infamous wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl. Being her first film appearance
02:45in nearly a decade, Jackson seemed excited to talk about her experience on set.
02:49Tyler and I have been wanting to work together for a while, so it was really nice getting together
02:54with him and with an ensemble cast and a piece, and we just had such a great time.
03:01However, news anchor Mark S. Allen couldn't resist slipping in questions about the controversy.
03:06Jackson's co-star, Tyler Perry, immediately jumped in, deflecting the awkward questions
03:12and steering the conversation back to their film.
03:14Not only that, Why Did I Get Married, when it opens on the 12th here,
03:18I think that people will see what a great actress he is.
03:21Allen persisted, though, forcing Perry to bluntly tell him to focus on the movie
03:24and drop the halftime show topic.
03:27It's what bad? What are you talking about?
03:29If nothing's bad, no.
03:32Everything's great. We're here to talk about the movie. I just think that we should keep
03:35it to what we wanted to talk about.
03:36This relentless grilling annoyed viewers, who bombarded Allen with over 19,000 emails
03:42condemning his behavior. He eventually issued a public apology.
03:45Number 7. Samuel L. Jackson
03:48Well, it started off…
03:49I thought I was the only person that gave it positive reviews.
03:50It says that the movie's trash.
03:52Oh.
03:53But then it says…
03:54Well, that's wrong.
03:542019's Captain Marvel made waves as the first female-led project
03:59in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But even before its release,
04:02the internet trolls were out on full force,
04:05flooding its online pages with thousands of negative comments.
04:08I recognize the council has made a decision,
04:11but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it.
04:14In 2023, Samuel L. Jackson, who starred alongside Brie Larson in the film,
04:19was asked about the online hate the actress faced during that period.
04:23Jackson, who was not only Larson's co-star, but also her close friend,
04:27confidently assured everyone that she was tough enough to handle anything thrown her way.
04:39Describing Larson as a stronger person than people give her credit for,
04:43Jackson emphasized that not even the nastiest fans could destroy her.
04:48Number 6. Robert Downey Jr.
04:50Sexism is still a major problem in Hollywood, often creeping up in the most unexpected ways.
04:56Like, how come you get, like, the really interesting,
04:58like, existential question and I get the, like, rabbit food question?
05:01Case in point, this 2012 London press conference for the Marvel film The Avengers.
05:06During the session, a reporter took the microphone
05:09and directed questions at co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.
05:13While Downey was asked a thought-provoking question about his character's emotional
05:17progression, Johansson was hit with one regarding dieting.
05:20Did you have anything special to do in terms of the diet?
05:24Like, did you have to eat some specific food or that sort of thing?
05:28In response, Downey playfully highlighted the absurdity of the statement,
05:32and gave Johansson the space to tackle the query herself.
05:35If I've learned anything, it's that people are much more interested
05:38in your second question to Scarlett than any answer I can give.
05:43In an apparent gesture of solidarity, he even reached over and held her.
05:475. Mila Kunis
05:56Justin Timberlake skyrocketed to fame as a member of the boy band NSYNC,
06:00and later as a solo pop sensation.
06:03However, in the late 2000s, Timberlake put a hold on his music career and transitioned into movies,
06:08starring opposite Mila Kunis in the 2011 rom-com Friends With Benefits.
06:13During a promotional event in Russia, a reporter quizzed Timberlake about his shift to acting.
06:26Kunis, who was born in Ukraine and speaks fluent Russian, did not take kindly to the question,
06:30and swiftly shut it down with style.
06:32Her takedown of the reporter was noteworthy, not only because it was impressive to hear
06:37Kunis effortlessly switch languages, but it also left Timberlake looking like a deer in headlights.
06:544. Benedict Wong
07:07The 2022 Marvel flick Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
07:11introduced America Chavez, a teenage superhero played by relative newcomer Sochi Gomez.
07:17Before its release, the film sparked some controversy when Saudi Arabia
07:21decided not to screen it due to America being a lesbian character with two moms.
07:25When asked about this, Gomez was thrilled that Disney refused to cut out the LGBTQIA plus references.
07:31She went on to acknowledge the potential hate this could bring her way,
07:46but found a champion in co-star Benedict Wong.
07:48Wong didn't hesitate to slam the trolls,
07:51stressing how unfair it was to target a young actor who was simply doing her job.
07:56Besides Saudi Arabia, the film was also banned in Kuwait, Qatar, and Egypt.
08:083. Benedict Cumberbatch
08:10Speaking of Doctor Strange, two years before he first donned the red cloak,
08:14Benedict Cumberbatch portrayed famed mathematician Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.
08:20In September 2014, he and co-star Keira Knightley attended the Toronto International
08:25Film Festival to promote the film. While both actors were being prepped for an interview,
08:37the journalist made a snide remark about Knightley's appearance. Without even missing
08:41a beat, Cumberbatch jumped to her defense, chiding the unseen reporter for his not-so-nice comments.
08:51This wasn't the first time Cumberbatch had stood up for Knightley. According to the actress,
08:59he once jokingly punched a journalist in the arm for calling her acting skills into question.
09:112. Cameron Diaz
09:13Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore go way back, having both starred in Charlie's Angels and its sequel.
09:21Diaz was even the Maid of Honor at Barrymore's wedding in 2012,
09:32so when a radio host bad-mouthed Barrymore, Diaz didn't take it lightly. In 2014,
09:38while promoting her film Sex Tape on Australia's The Carl and Jackie O Show,
09:42the hosts mentioned that Diaz's on-screen child looked like a young Barrymore.
09:47Diaz agreed, but when co-host Carl Sanderlunds made an offhanded reference to Barrymore's
10:01troubled childhood, which put Diaz off, she fired back with a sarcastic dig at
10:06Sanderlund's own personal life. Despite attempts to get back on track, Diaz was done.
10:11She cut the call shortly after, ending the interview on an awkward note.
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10:351. Robin Williams
10:37Were you afraid of taking that role and being, like, typecast and people forever saying,
10:40are you, are you not, is he, is he, honey, I don't know.
10:44Girl, you changed just in the middle of that sentence.
10:47The 1996 comedy The Birdcage featured Robin Williams and Nathan Lane
10:51as a gay couple living it up in South Beach, Florida. At the time, Lane hadn't come out
10:56publicly and wasn't keen on discussing his sexuality with the media. When both actors
11:00appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he confided in Williams about his reluctance to talk about it.
11:05So, when Oprah Winfrey veered the conversation towards Lane's personal life,
11:08Williams immediately jumped in and changed the topic, sparing Lane from having to answer.
11:12I finally got a big part in a movie and I didn't want to make it about my sexuality.
11:18Although he doesn't believe Winfrey was intentionally trying to out him,
11:21Lane still felt protected by Williams, whom he fondly remembers as a beautiful, sensitive soul.
11:27And was just the greatest person, just such a beautiful, sensitive soul, and so kind and
11:35generous to me. Which of these Hollywood stars earned your respect for their defensive skills?
11:39Let us know in the comments below. When she disclosed it, she was just being Britney,
11:44and I loved her, but I don't mean that in a negative way, I mean that in the way that she
11:49lives her life and such truth. Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from
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