Just when we thought Tom Cruise jumping and screaming on the couch during his interview with Oprah was the most awkward interaction that ever aired on television, these celebrities proved us wrong with their cringe-worthy conversations. Whether we caught these stars on a bad day, or the interviewee was just not doing their job right, this list of awkward moments will have you wanting to cringe so hard.
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00:00Samuel L. Jackson
00:01When KTLA reporter Sam Rubin asked Samuel L. Jackson about a Super Bowl commercial he
00:06was in, mistaking him for actor Lawrence Fishburne, the interview was effectively over.
00:11Did you get a lot of reaction to that Super Bowl commercial?
00:15What Super Bowl commercial?
00:16Although he attempted to track back to the intended Robocop promo, Rubin was well aware
00:20of what he'd done, saying after the interview,
00:22That is a tape that I believe is now going to have a life of all of its own.
00:26But in a separate interview of his own, Fishburne told Strombo he actually gets mistaken for
00:30Jackson all the time.
00:32A woman from Texas came up and interrupted the interview.
00:34I don't mean to bother you, but can I have your autograph, Mr. Jackson?
00:39Fishburne did what any self-respecting star would do, saying,
00:42I wrote, you know, blah blah blah Sam Jackson.
00:45Fortunately, Fishburne is a good sport about the whole thing.
00:48People used to confuse Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman.
00:50It's not a bad problem to have.
00:52Not at all.
00:53Robert Downey Jr.
00:55U.K. reporter Krishnan Gurumurthy, who's made a name for himself as a button pusher, got
00:59on Robert Downey Jr.'s bad side in 2015 by digging up Downey's widely known rocky past.
01:04I don't know how comfortable you are, you know, talking about yourself at the moment.
01:10You have as much time as anyone else will.
01:12After a series of awkwardly personal questions about Downey's so-called dark times, Downey
01:16had had enough.
01:17I really don't.
01:18What are we doing?
01:20A normally congenial star abruptly ended the interview, calling Gurumurthy a schmuck on
01:25his way out the door.
01:26It's just getting a little dinosaur-y in there.
01:27No, no, no, look, I don't want to do that.
01:29During a later Howard Stern appearance, the actor was less diplomatic when reliving the
01:32uncomfortable moment, saying of Gurumurthy,
01:34You know what?
01:36You're weirding me out.
01:37You are a bottom-feeding muckraker.
01:39He then added,
01:40That is more than likely a syphilitic parasite, and I need to distance myself from this clown.
01:48To add insult to injury, the tense interview with Gurumurthy occurred during a press event
01:52for Avengers Age of Ultron, during which news outlets were reportedly allotted five-to-ten-minute
01:56slots with the stars for the expressed purpose of promoting the film.
02:00We're pretty sure Marvel would rather have the tentpole star of its cinematic universe
02:04talking about how cool it is to be Iron Man, instead of, say, the time he got arrested
02:08for heroin possession.
02:10Quentin Tarantino
02:12Krishnan Gurumurthy got himself pummeled with return fire from director Quentin Tarantino
02:16after attempting to draw a corollary between violent films, like Tarantino's, and mass
02:21shootings.
02:22But why it's okay to go into a movie and enjoy the violence?
02:26Yeah, well, it's a movie.
02:28It's a fantasy.
02:29It's a fantasy.
02:30It's not real life.
02:31The interview took place during promotion for the director's Django Unchained, which
02:34has no shortage of violence.
02:36When Gurumurthy repeatedly attempted to discuss a potential correlation,
02:40But why are you so sure that there's no link between enjoying movie violence and enjoying
02:45real violence?
02:46Tarantino replied,
02:47Don't ask me a question like that.
02:49I'm not biting.
02:50I refuse your question."
02:51For his part, Tarantino made it abundantly clear that he'd already spoken on the subject
02:55at length since the start of his career, and that his only intention for Gurumurthy's interview
02:59was to sell his movie.
03:01His final response on the matter?
03:02I'm shutting your butt down.
03:05Jesse Eisenberg
03:07While promoting Now You See Me, Jesse Eisenberg sat down with Romina Puga for a segment of
03:11the show, Say My Name.
03:13He must have somehow thought he was back on the set of The Social Network because he
03:17was in full Zuckerberg mode, rapid-firing insults, even encouraging Puga to cry by saying,
03:22You were like the Carrot Top of interviewers.
03:24I'm gonna go cry now.
03:25No, don't cry now.
03:26Cry after the interview's over, because otherwise I'll look like I'm responsible for it.
03:29At first, their banter seemed playful, and maybe even an attempt at wry humor.
03:33But in just under three minutes, Eisenberg ended up looking like a bully.
03:36I said your name into the camera.
03:38What else do you want from me?
03:39Puga even edited the segment to end with her final thoughts.
03:42Such a jerk.
03:43Even then, fans wondered if it was a failed gag or an actual train wreck of an interview.
03:48Puga answered that question with a Tumblr post that confirmed Eisenberg was indeed not
03:52very nice.
03:53She wrote,
03:54When the five-minute interview, more like self-esteem butchering, was finally over,
03:58I went behind a curtain to wait for the memory cards from the interview.
04:00I peeked around the curtain to ask Jesse about his neighborhood in New York, and he immediately
04:05says,
04:06You're still here?
04:07Cara Delevingne
04:09There were several factors at play that turned actress Cara Delevingne's Good Day Sacramento
04:12appearance into the perfect storm of interview awkwardness.
04:15First, there was her introduction as Carla.
04:18Carla Delevingne is in the movie.
04:20She joins us live from New York City to talk about paper towns.
04:22Cara, good morning!
04:23Then, along with a satellite delay that blew any attempts at jokes, the Good Day hosts
04:28asked vaguely insulting questions, like this one.
04:31Did you get a chance to read it, or do you even have time to sit and read?
04:35These days you're so busy.
04:37No, I never read the book or the script, actually.
04:39I kind of winged it.
04:40By just under the three-minute mark, it was the interviewers, sensing what they thought
04:44was attitude coming from Delevingne, who decided to throw in the towel.
04:47We'll let you go then.
04:48How about that?
04:49We'll let you go take a little nap.
04:50Maybe get a Red Bull.
04:51How about that?
04:52The satellite feed was cut, and the hosts decided Carla's bad mood was the problem.
04:57She was in a mood!
04:59Delevingne took to Twitter in her own defense, writing,
05:01Some people just don't understand sarcasm or the British sense of humor.
05:05Vin Diesel
05:06Wondering about the creepiest possible way a male celebrity can have a conversation with
05:11a female interviewer?
05:12Vin Diesel's got your answer.
05:13My God, I love her.
05:14Look how beautiful she is.
05:16God.
05:17Wow.
05:18Man.
05:19Diesel actually professed his inappropriate love several times while speaking with YouTube
05:24personality Carol Morera to promote Triple X, Return of Xander Cage.
05:28God, you're so beautiful.
05:29My God, she's so beautiful.
05:30Am I right or wrong?
05:31Look at her.
05:32How am I supposed to do this interview?
05:36Morera later told E! News,
05:38I did not like it.
05:39At the time, I did not know how to react, but you will see that I was uncomfortable.
05:43It was not nice that he interrupted my work."
05:45Diesel's best attempt at an apology was to post the uncut version of the interview on
05:49Facebook, writing,
05:50As you all know, I try to keep my interviews playful and fun, especially when I am in the
05:54Xander zone.
05:55But if I offended anyone, then let me apologize, because that is never my intention."
05:59Need an added layer of gross to the story?
06:02Diesel did all of this in spite of having a long-time girlfriend, Paloma Jimenez, with
06:06whom he shares two daughters.
06:08Bruce Willis
06:09Unfortunately for UK radio personality Jamie Edwards, his morning show enthusiasm was no
06:15match for Bruce Willis' well-known pretension when it came to an uncomfortable promotional
06:19interview for Red 2.
06:21Alongside Mary-Louise Parker, Willis approached each of Edwards' questions with an increasing
06:25level of boredom and disgust.
06:26I can imagine you doing the whole Route 66 thing one day.
06:29I'm thinking about driving right now.
06:31I can hardly keep my mind on this interview."
06:33Afterward, Edwards explained to HLN that he was simply trying to get a soundbite to use
06:38for promotional purposes for his radio station.
06:40He got it when Willis, out of the blue, made a joke about ending his own life.
06:44So how would you sell me the film then?
06:47What would you say is the best part about the film?
06:49I would slash my hooves.
06:52But hey, no interview is a bad interview when it comes to going viral.
06:56Chelsea Handler
06:57Comedian and talk show host Chelsea Handler isn't one to hold back, and she certainly
07:01pulled no punches during a 2014 interview with Piers Morgan, when she literally told
07:06the British host,
07:07You're a terrible interviewer."
07:08And the awkwardness only grew from there during the curiously amicable interview.
07:13Handler repeatedly slagged Morgan over everything from his short attention span to his unfunny
07:17Twitter
07:18You're so funny sometimes.
07:19You're so funny sometimes I forget to laugh.
07:22To his decision to end the whole thing by showing her footage of George Zimmerman signing
07:25autographs at a gun show.
07:28Thanks for ending on such a high note.
07:29I'm trying to end on a smile.
07:30Something nice.
07:31You're so handsome.
07:32That'll do.
07:33But the whole interview was overshadowed by the announcement one month prior that Morgan's
07:37show was being canceled just three years after taking over for his longtime CNN predecessor,
07:42Larry King.
07:43And in case you're wondering, Handler brought that up, too.
07:45When Morgan protested that he only stops paying attention to his guests when they're uninteresting,
07:49Handler said,
07:50Well maybe that's why your job is coming to an end.
07:57I don't know.
07:58I don't know.
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