There've always been and always will be confrontational talk show moments and awkward live celebrity interviews. So brace yourself, because we're about to dive into some cringey on-camera interactions that pull zero punches.
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00:00There have always been, and always will be, confrontational talk show moments and awkward
00:05live celebrity interviews.
00:06So brace yourself, because we're about to dive into some cringey on-camera interactions
00:10that pull zero punches.
00:13David Letterman wasn't bashful about revealing that it had taken a long time and over 80
00:17invitations for Cher to finally appear as a guest on his show in 1986.
00:22When she did, the late show turned into a battle of wits, thanks to the legendary singer's
00:26disarming candor.
00:27Letterman kick-started his long-awaited interview with a curious line of questioning about Cher's
00:31scent.
00:32You smell terrific.
00:33You really smell great.
00:34The singer obliged, explaining to Letterman the perfume cocktail that made her smell good,
00:38but not without a well-timed quip.
00:40Is this as good as it gets?
00:41From Cher's end, it got even better.
00:44When asked what took her so long to say yes to appearing on the show, Cher came up with
00:47an intriguing reply about having a huge hotel bill and needing the appearance fee to pay
00:51it off.
00:52She then went for the jugular.
00:53I thought that I would never want to do this show with you.
00:56Because you thought I was, uh…
00:57An a**hole.
00:58As cheers and jeers filled the studio, Cher went on to reveal that she had actually communicated
01:03her feelings about Letterman to one of the staffers on his show.
01:06Just before diverting the conversation to a less prickly topic, Letterman waved the
01:09white flag.
01:10And we're happy, we're happy you're finally here.
01:12Now, let's talk about something else.
01:14Madonna's interview with David Letterman in 1994 was so way out that even today, it remains
01:20inexplicable and yet still legendary.
01:23I'm only here because there isn't a next game.
01:25Don't get excited.
01:26Laden with expletives, a record 14 F-bombs, and inappropriate jokes, this episode of The
01:31Late Show was portrayed as an undignified moment in Madonna's storied career.
01:36But between her more outrageous costumes and the endless criticism that came her way, the
01:40world conveniently forgot that it was Letterman who actually fired the first shot, introducing
01:44her as a woman who had, quote, "...slept with some of the biggest names in the entertainment
01:48industry."
01:49He then prodded her further.
01:50Let's go kiss the guy in the audience.
01:51Why don't you go kiss the guy in the audience?
01:52Why are you so obsessed with my sex life?
01:54The interview grew progressively R-rated from there, with the singer calling Letterman a
01:58sick s— at one point.
01:59Though the controversy seemingly didn't tarnish the pair's relationship, given her subsequent
02:03appearances on his show, it did prompt the superstar to set the record straight about
02:07a few things.
02:08When asked about her cussing during an interview with Spin magazine, Madonna replied,
02:12"...David Letterman knew I was going to do it."
02:14And in an interview with People, she went on to claim that the show's producers had
02:17even encouraged her to do the bit, saying,
02:19"...the way he introduced me was derogatory, so my whole thing was, okay, if that's how
02:24you want to play it, you cannot beat me at this game."
02:27Taylor Swift found herself in the midst of a brazenly sexist interview on the Grammy's
02:31red carpet in 2015, when Entertainment Tonight reporter Nancy O'Dell suggested that the singer
02:36was going to, quote, "...walk home with more than maybe just a trophy."
02:39The conversation began with O'Dell complimenting Swift on her look, along with the customary
02:43pan of the camera that showed the whole of her Elie Saab cutout dress.
02:46But in the very next moment, things got super awkward when O'Dell made a super sketchy comment.
02:51I just wanted to show the legs, because as I was telling you ahead of time, you're gonna
02:54walk home with more than maybe just a trophy tonight, I think lots of men."
02:58The 14-time Grammy winner gave O'Dell what can only be described as an unrelenting stare.
03:03After a short pause, Swift retorted,
03:05"...I'm not gonna walk home with any men tonight. I'm gonna go hang out with my friends,
03:09and then I go home to the cats."
03:11O'Dell's line of questioning was widely criticized, and not just by Swift's faithful
03:15army of fans. In fact, the interview made headlines and generated plenty of media attention.
03:20Swift, meanwhile, was cheered on for handling the situation with poise,
03:23and for being fearless in the face of O'Dell's tasteless remarks.
03:27As the most decorated U.S. gymnast in Olympic history, Simone Biles knows what it takes to
03:32win, and one can be sure that it's taken more than just social pleasantries for her to get
03:36where she is today. This concept was apparently lost on the Dancing with the Stars panel, though,
03:40some of whom tried to school the goat on the importance of smiling when she was on stage.
03:44After she finished one of several dances she aced on Season 24, the judges' feedback
03:49placed heavy emphasis on Biles' expressions.
03:51The last time I showed emotion, it was at the Olympics, and I got a bronze instead of gold.
03:57The gymnast, who was 20 at the time, explained her lack of experience with the kind of emotions
04:01required on the dance stage, given that she'd spent more than half of her life training in
04:05the gym. Then, to make things worse, host Tom Bergeron pressed further.
04:09I was waiting for you to smile at some of the compliments. You didn't.
04:12Biles' reply was sharper this time around, after she flashed a megawatt grin.
04:16Smiling doesn't win you gold medals.
04:18Bergeron later admitted to his blunder on Sex, Lies & Spray Tans, saying,
04:22She was brilliant. I was so properly put in my place.
04:26Dakota Johnson's unforgettable 2019 takedown of Ellen DeGeneres made for one of the best
04:30and worst moments of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. When DeGeneres began brazenly questioning Johnson
04:35about not receiving an invite to her birthday party, things turned awkward pretty fast.
04:39Johnson retorted,
04:41Actually, no. That's not the truth, Ellen. You were invited.
04:44And Johnson didn't stop there. She brought out the receipts, saying,
04:47Last time I was on the show, last year, you gave me a bunch of s— for not inviting you.
04:51But I didn't even know you wanted to be invited. But I did invite you, and you didn't come.
04:55Despite Johnson's insistence, DeGeneres continued to claim she hadn't received an invite,
04:59until, finally, a crew member piped in to say,
05:02You were out of town.
05:03That was amazing, by the way. Like, amazing.
05:08We don't know what actually transpired behind the scenes, but as far as the internet was concerned,
05:12Johnson emerged the clear winner. When the moment was brought up during an interview
05:16with Low Fees Yell, Johnson replied,
05:18It will haunt me.
05:19Jerry Seinfeld may be regarded as one of the world's foremost comedic performers,
05:23but he seemed to be in no mood to humor CNN host Larry King's questions during an ill-fated 2007
05:28interview. Though he was on Larry King Live to talk about his film Bee Movie, the conversation
05:33inevitably turned to Seinfeld's iconic sitcom, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1998. King seemed
05:39less than up to speed.
05:40So you gave it up, right?
05:42I didn't.
05:42They didn't cancel you. You canceled them.
05:45Seinfeld looked at him incredulous.
05:47You're not aware of this?
05:48That's when the interview began going south, with both men speaking over each other.
05:52You think I got canceled? Are you under the impression that I got canceled?
05:55I hurt you, Jerry.
05:57Seinfeld fired back at him and the channel's research team.
05:59I thought that was pretty well documented. Is this still CNN?
06:03The heated banter continued for a while longer, with Seinfeld listing his show's success metrics
06:08for King until, at last, the seemingly endless awkwardness ended with King calling for a break.
06:12It was only in 2021, when King died, that Seinfeld cleared the air around the infamous
06:17interview, posting on Ex,
06:19"...always loved Larry King and will miss him. The cancelled bit was just me having fun with
06:23his little mistake. Nothing more or less."
06:26It's not uncommon to hear of television reporters fumbling on air, but few dug themselves into a
06:30hole as deep as Sam Rubin did while interviewing Samuel L. Jackson for KTLA in 2014.
06:36Did you get a lot of reaction to that Super Bowl commercial?
06:39What Super Bowl commercial?
06:41In an embarrassing case of mistaken identity, the late entertainment reporter seemed to have
06:45confused the Pulp Fiction star with fellow actor Lawrence Fishburne, asking him about
06:49a Super Bowl commercial he never did. Jackson immediately caught on to the mix-up and didn't
06:53lose time berating the anchor.
06:55I'm not Lawrence Fishburne. We may be all black and famous, but we all don't look alike.
07:00Rubin was visibly fazed and spluttered apologies, as the KTLA camp tried to
07:04defuse the situation. But Jackson wasn't done giving his host a lesson in good journalism.
07:09You're the entertainment reporter for this station? And you don't know the difference
07:12between me and Lawrence Fishburne?
07:14He went on to lay out a differentiation between Hollywood's top crop of black actors
07:18that included himself, Fishburne, and Morgan Freeman. While Jackson clearly didn't care
07:22for the gaffe, he later referenced the situation by wearing a T-shirt that read,
07:26I'm not Lawrence Fishburne.
07:28Jonah Hill has often hit back at hosts who got a little too personal about him on camera.
07:32In 2016, he took things up a notch by reacting with more than just words following an unsavory
07:37incident in France. He was on the talk show Le Grand Journal to promote his film War Dogs with
07:42co-star Miles Teller, when the conversation turned asexual and, going by the expression
07:46on Hill's face, rather awkward. Referencing Hill's ensemble comedy This Is the End,
07:50host Ornella Fleury mentioned that she enjoyed watching his character, quote,
07:54"...get sodomized by a three-meter-tall demon."
07:56Hill replied with a not-safe-for-word comeback of his own.
07:59Demon?
08:00Yes.
08:03That's not good. That's not good.
08:05Fleury kept the NSFW tone of the interview going by describing a fantasy she claimed
08:09to have had about Hill, in which he summoned his friends Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio
08:13and left her alone with them. Hill, who was tuned in to a translation of the interview
08:17through his earpiece, didn't take the exchange well and made his displeasure known, saying,
08:21"...I'm glad I came on this show to get ridiculed by your local weather girl."
08:25According to reports, the incident prompted Hill to cancel the rest of his press tour in France.
08:29Fleury eventually issued a public apology,
08:31implying that she had misjudged the extent to which she could joke with him.
08:35Joan Rivers' blunt humor wasn't easily digestible, often proving too acerbic for people's tastes,
08:40and leaving her with no dearth of public feuds. Despite the fire she started,
08:44there was no disputing the legendary status Rivers occupied in the world of comedy,
08:48which went beyond her penchant for controversy. So when the funny woman felt she was being
08:52needled about the shock value she brought to the table on a CNN interview in 2014,
08:56she decided to hit back.
08:58"...you really think that, uh, uh, Nicki Minaj cares I didn't like her dress?"
09:05CNN anchor Frederica Whitfield questioned Rivers on everything from her comments on
09:09Nicki Minaj and Princess Diana to the fur she wore on her book cover,
09:12and Rivers didn't appreciate it.
09:14"...you know, this whole interview is becoming a defensive interview."
09:17Ultimately, Rivers ended up storming out, but not without telling an
09:21incredulous Whitfield to shut up. Explaining her walkout to The Wrap later, Rivers said,
09:25"...she did not seem to understand we were talking about a comedy book and not the
09:29transcripts from the Nuremberg trial. Every question was an accusatory one
09:32designed to put me on the defensive."
09:34"...life is very tough, and if you can make a joke to make something easier and funny, do it."
09:42In a separate segment, Whitfield revealed that Rivers had continued to utter some cuss words
09:46after walking out of frame. When Angelina Jolie shared a kiss with her brother, James Haven,
09:51the night she won an Oscar in 2000, comedians and commentators at large had a field day,
09:56making endless jokes about the supposedly incestuous incident. One of them was Jay Leno.
10:00"...I heard a rumor that you guys were a little mad at me,
10:02because we were doing some jokes about you."
10:05It's no secret that Jolie doesn't play around when it comes to her family. So when she was
10:09invited on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno later that same year, she went bearing receipts that
10:13incriminated the host. Pretty much right off the bat, Jolie set out to put the record straight.
10:17"...you know, when somebody says stuff about your family,
10:21it's just not okay. And my mom's been just not okay about the stuff about me and my brother."
10:25She then brandished a piece of paper that supposedly contained highlights of the remarks
10:29Leno had made in reference to Jolie and Haven's relationship, which Jolie said made their mother
10:34sick.
10:34"'Oh, you know how Billy Bob knew Angelina was attracted to him,
10:37because she said he was like a brother to her.'"
10:39Leno was visibly thrown off balance, and after reading a couple of his jokes out
10:43loud at Jolie's command, tried to justify his actions by saying that he'd been just
10:47one of many people who told jokes about her. Jolie then proceeded to give him a
10:50little lesson about growing a spine.
10:52"'You know, it's good of you to just jump in with everybody else, you know. Sometimes it's
10:56good to, like, stand up for something.'"
10:59Matthew McConaughey may be more candid than most actors about politics,
11:02but he doesn't play when it comes to provocative questions on the subject.
11:05The star was on The View in 2023, regaling the panel with stories about his family life and
11:10work projects, when host Joy Behar, who was aware that McConaughey had been flirting with
11:14the idea of getting into politics, threw him a curveball.
11:16"'Didn't he get elected in Texas being anti-gun?'
11:19While a discussion about McConaughey's potential political run prompted Behar's blunt query,
11:24he refused to take the bait.
11:26"'One thing about me and politics is, to give you a direct statement right there,
11:32is be playing a game that I'm not interested in playing.'"
11:34"'Okay.'"
11:34Behar gave up, and even as the audience enjoyed this dramatic endgame, McConaughey was clearly
11:39unamused, and the camera cut to host Whoopi Goldberg, who changed the subject.
11:43Red carpet gaffes are all but guaranteed during awards season,
11:46coming about either as awkward celebrity encounters or erroneous
11:49statements caught on camera for posterity.
11:51One such foot-in-the-mouth moment occurred in 2015 at the Screen Actors Guild Awards,
11:56when television presenter Danielle Dempsey complimented actor Rashida Jones on her tan.
12:00Overlooking the fact that Jones is of Black descent,
12:03Dempsey showered the star with a bevy of presumably well-meaning remarks.
12:06"'You look like you've just come off, like, an island or something. You're very tan,
12:09very tropical."
12:10Known for her impeccable comic timing,
12:12Jones turned the supposed compliment on its head with a deadpan retort, and fired back.
12:16"'I mean, you know, I'm ethnic.'"
12:18The whole thing was uncomfortable to watch, and has since turned into internet gold.
12:22Talking about the viral moment to The New Yorker years later, Jones explained,
12:26"'I was a little grumpy, I'm going to admit. I was like, not today, Jesus, not today.'"
12:30She went on to explain how her background ties in with her identity, saying,
12:34"'I don't want to show up and try to represent something that I'm not.'"
12:38More than anything, Sandra Bullock's infamous 2009 interview with Today show host Matt Lauer
12:43is uncomfortable to watch. The star was on the show to talk about her film The Proposal,
12:47during which Lauer seemed to be fixated on a nude scene. Not long after the interview began,
12:51Lauer started in.
12:52"'The major thing that's changed since you were here last? I have now seen you naked.'"
12:57Bullock let out a laugh before asking Lauer if he was able to sleep afterwards,
13:01and didn't let him off easy when she caught his eyes wandering over her body.
13:05"'Why you looking down?'
13:06The call-out should have signaled to Lauer to drop the subject,
13:08but he didn't seem to get the hint.
13:10"'Naked for most of this movie.'"
13:11An exasperated Bullock protested. Then, a little later into their conversation,
13:16Lauer again brought up the nude scene unprompted. Bullock was visibly less amused this time,
13:20pointing out to Lauer that he'd been talking about her nudity for the majority of the interview.
13:24It didn't seem like she was entirely joking, either,
13:27when she told Lauer she wouldn't return to the show after the way things transpired.
13:30"'Will I come back more often?''
13:32"'No, not after this interview.'"
13:33The inappropriate exchange went viral nearly a decade later,
13:36when accusations of sexual misconduct against Lauer surfaced.
13:40Cara Delevingne's 2015 interview with CBS' Good Day Sacramento was doomed to fail right
13:45from the start, when anchor Marianne McCleary introduced her incorrectly.
13:49"'Carla Delevingne is in the movie!''
13:50Delevingne, who was there to promote her film Paper Towns, refrained from correcting her host,
13:55but eventually let her deadpan sarcasm speak for itself. When McCleary asked Delevingne
13:59if she'd have the chance to read the John Green book on which her film was based,
14:02she fired off a sharp reply.
14:04"'Uh, no, I never read the book or the script, actually. I kind of winged it.'"
14:07This earned some chuckles from the hosts before the interview got progressively awkward,
14:11and no one was laughing anymore. Delevingne's sarcastic tone foregrounded most of her
14:16responses — so much so that, at one point, the hosts asked about her demeanor,
14:19which Delevingne attributed to an emotional premiere the night before
14:22followed by an early morning interview.
14:24"'I saw you in London talking a couple weeks ago on TV,
14:27and you seemed a lot more excited about it than you do right now. Are you just exhausted?''
14:31Then, McCleary piled on, harping on Delevingne's attitude.
14:35"'You do seem a bit irritated. Perhaps it's just us.'"
14:40"'N-no, I think it's just you.'"
14:41Things had definitely heated up, and McCleary's suggestion that Delevingne, quote,
14:45"'take a little nap, maybe get a Red Bull,' did nothing to help cool them down.
14:48After the interview was cut short, the hosts went off about Delevingne.
14:52"'She was in a mood!''
14:54The actor later responded with a single statement on X, reading,
14:58"'Some people just don't understand sarcasm or the British sense of humor.'"
15:02It's not always an upsetting question from an interviewer that can set a celebrity off.
15:06Sometimes, the interviewer alone can be enough. Chelsea Handler seemed
15:09thoroughly unimpressed by Piers Morgan's behavior when she appeared on a CNN show in 2014.
15:14Morgan, a polarizing media figure, was not very polite to Handler,
15:18who called him out on it during an on-air segment, and she didn't mince words.
15:22Handler told off Morgan for using his phone mid-interview.
15:25"'I mean, in the middle of the commercial break, I want your viewers to know,
15:27I mean, you can't even pay attention for 60 seconds. You're a terrible interviewer.'"
15:32Morgan tried to justify things by claiming Handler was unable to hold his attention,
15:36but the funny woman was having none of it.
15:38"'There's more of an issue for you than me. There is your problem.'"
15:40"'This is your show. You have to pay attention to the guests that you invited on your show.'"
15:44The argument went on a little longer before Handler delivered the final blow.
15:48"'Well, maybe that's why your job is coming to an end.'"
15:50Only a month prior to Handler's devastating comeback,
15:53CNN had decided to pull the plug on Morgan's show. Years later,
15:56when the British host locked horns with Meghan Markle, Handler dug out her own Morgan interview
16:00and shared it on Instagram, writing,
16:02"'Some a***** get better. Some just stay the same.'"
16:06Imagine going down in history as the guy who dissed acting legend Helen Mirren.
16:10She was already a rising star on the British theater circuit when she appeared on the talk
16:14show Parkinson in 1975, only to be introduced by host Michael Parkinson as a sex queen.
16:19"'The critics spend as much time discussing her physical attributes as assessing her acting
16:24ability. One called her an amorous boa constrictor.'"
16:27From there, the interview had nowhere to go but downhill. Once Mirren was seated,
16:31she handled the thorny situation with grace until Parkinson moved on to questions about
16:35her acting ability. And, unfortunately, his line of inquiry didn't get any less sexist.
16:40"'I mean, you are, in quotes, a serious actress.'"
16:43He then went on to ask if her, quote,
16:45"'equipment' was a hindrance to her status as such."
16:47Mirren cross-questioned Parkinson about the euphemism
16:50"'equipment' until he gave a more graphic explanation, citing her, quote,
16:53"'figure.'" Tricky as it was, Mirren was ready with a pointed response.
16:57"'Cause serious actresses can't have big bosoms, is that what you mean?'
17:01In later years, the star revealed that her sit-down with Parkinson had been the first
17:05of its kind for her. Speaking with The Telegraph, she revealed,
17:08"'I was terrified.'"
17:09Mirren then went on to deservedly pat herself on the back for navigating the interview so well.
17:14She also spared some choice words for Parkinson, saying,
17:16"'He denies it to this day that it was sexist, but of course he was.'"
17:20Back in 2012, Zac Efron and Taylor Swift joined forces to deliver one of the most
17:25savage burns ever on The Ellen DeGeneres Show — and in the form of a song, no less.
17:29This was long before the host of allegations against DeGeneres came to light.
17:32"'Three top producers have now, quote,
17:35parted ways, but the horror stories keep coming.'"
17:38But if their practical joke was anything to go by, it seems that celebrities had been
17:42calling attention to the more problematic aspects of DeGeneres' interviews for years.
17:47Efron and Swift did it by humorously riffing on a version of Foster the People's pumped-up kicks.
17:51Efron sang,
17:52"'Ellen works a long day, giving weird interviews in a slick,
17:55cool sweater. And it gets kind of weird, yeah, calling us out like we're boyfriend and girlfriend.'"
18:00Swift and Efron, who co-starred on The Lorax,
18:03then launched into a duet that described how weird things got every time they came on her show.
18:07Swift went on to recall the time DeGeneres hid in a bathroom with a camera to scare her,
18:11also calling the host out for her relentless questions about her dating history.
18:15Surprisingly enough, DeGeneres didn't have a comeback for the occasion.
18:19Jane Fonda has never been shy about the many cosmetic changes she's undergone
18:23over the course of her long career, but she was evidently in no mood to discuss
18:26it with Megyn Kelly on a 2017 episode of Today while she was promoting her film Our Souls at
18:31Night. As soon as Kelly broached the subject of aging and veered into the topic of what work
18:35Fonda had done, the star's displeasure was immediately clear. She made no effort to
18:39hide it either, responding to Kelly's question with a sharp retort,
18:43"'We really want to talk about that now?'
18:45The awkward moment soon escalated into a public feud,
18:48and Fonda didn't hold back from taking a swipe at Kelly every now and then.
18:51During one such incident, she told Variety that she did think Kelly was a good interviewer.
18:55"'No, it wasn't like I was, you know, uh, upset. I was just stunned. It was so inappropriate.'"
19:01Kelly didn't take the criticism lying down and soon responded on her Today segment.
19:05"'Fonda was on to promote a film about aging. And if Fonda really wants to have an honest
19:09discussion about older women's cultural face, then her plastic surgery is tough to ignore.'"
19:14Kelly could have stopped there, but didn't, taking tensions a smidge higher by calling
19:18Fonda's political opinions into question for good measure.
19:21With series like Hell's Kitchen and the more recent Idiot Sandwich,
19:24Gordon Ramsay has turned his trademark temper into commercial success. But it didn't seem
19:28like the celebrity chef was making a show of his annoyance when he was interviewed by
19:32Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson on The Australian Breakfast Show Today back in 2008.
19:36Ramsay was in Australia at the time, caught in the midst of a controversy surrounding his
19:40expletive-laden programs that had prompted the Australian parliament to launch an inquiry.
19:45Ironically, this interview wasn't devoid of swearing, either. One of the high points of
19:49the exchange — and Ramsay's seeming displeasure — came when Wilkinson questioned him about media
19:53reports that he'd had Botox injections. Ramsay went off.
19:56"'Yeah, now, you're a smart girl, right?''
19:58Next, he tossed in a profane joke that caused Stefanovic's eyebrows to shoot up.
20:03"'Do you actually think I've had Botox? Do you think I need my money back? I mean,
20:06are you stupid?' His host laughed at this.
20:09It was difficult to gauge Ramsay's reaction when an arguably fearless Stefanovic brought
20:13the subject of Botox up again later in the conversation, causing Ramsay to respond sharply,
20:18but with a little chuckle. Whether he was kidding around or not, he walked off the interview right
20:24after.