These celebrity interviews went off the rails in a flash! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most noteworthy celeb interviews that caused a severely negative response from the public either towards the interviewer or interviewee.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 "I'm in love. I've never seen you like that!"
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:07 noteworthy celeb interviews that caused a severely negative response from the public,
00:12 either towards the interviewer or the interviewee.
00:16 "I didn't do this stuff. This is not me, y'all!"
00:19 Number 10. Britney Spears.
00:23 The 2021 documentary, 'Framing Britney Spears',
00:27 detailed the life and career of the titular pop star,
00:30 particularly highlighting her treatment by the media.
00:33 The film brought renewed attention to a November 2003 interview between Spears
00:38 and veteran journalist Diane Sawyer. During their conversation, Sawyer grilled the singer
00:44 about her publicized breakup with Justin Timberlake, seemingly blaming her for the
00:48 relationship's end. "He's left the impression that you weren't faithful, that you
00:56 betrayed the relationship."
00:58 Perhaps most egregious, she justified the statement of then-First Lady of Maryland,
01:03 who expressed a desire to shoot Spears, citing her as a bad influence.
01:08 The pop star wrote, quote, "Do we dare forget the Diane Sawyer interview in my apartment
01:13 almost 20 years ago? What was with the 'you're in the wrong' approach? Jeez, and making me cry?"
01:19 Following the documentary's release, Sawyer faced severe criticism for her line of questioning,
01:24 which many deemed to be sexist. Fans repeatedly called for Sawyer to apologize,
01:29 but she apparently never heeded those calls.
01:31 "Every time I try to fly, I fall without my wings. I feel so small."
01:40 Number 9. Lindsay Lohan.
01:43 The Britney Spears documentary also sparked discussions about the sexism faced by other
01:48 young female celebrities in the past.
01:50 "I'm tired of rumors starting. I'm sick of being followed. I'm tired of people lying,
01:57 saying what they want about me."
01:59 One such case involved Lindsay Lohan, who, in 2013, appeared on The Late Show with David
02:05 Letterman to promote her new film, Scary Movie 5. However, the interview took an uncomfortable turn
02:11 as Letterman delved into Lohan's personal life, specifically her visits to rehab.
02:16 "Aren't you supposed to be in rehab now?"
02:19 "Or not watch anything that goes on."
02:21 Despite Lohan's requests to keep the conversation positive, the host persisted,
02:27 eventually pressuring her to reveal the date of her return to rehab. After the interview resurfaced,
02:32 Letterman received heavy backlash for his unprofessional questions. Many fans also
02:38 drew parallels between this incident and Letterman's interview with Paris Hilton back in 2007.
02:44 "How'd you like being in jail?"
02:49 "That's how you smile."
02:50 Number 8. Kim Kardashian.
02:53 "I have the best advice for women in business. Get your ass up and work."
02:58 They say privilege blinds, and it perhaps never blinded anyone as much as media personality and
03:04 businesswoman Kim Kardashian. In a March 2022 interview with her mother and sisters,
03:09 Kardashian offered some controversial advice for women aspiring to launch successful businesses.
03:15 "Well that statement that I said was without questions and conversation around it and it
03:22 became a soundbite really with no context." While her family appeared to agree with her,
03:27 the same cannot be said for the public. Kardashian was widely criticized for what
03:32 many deemed to be an out-of-touch statement from a privileged celebrity. Some were offended by the
03:37 implication that women simply weren't putting in enough effort to achieve success, regardless of
03:42 their disadvantages. Kardashian later defended herself, asserting that she always had to, quote,
03:48 "work extra hard and harder to be taken seriously."
03:52 "The advice that I would give is just that having a social media presence and being on a reality show
03:59 does not mean overnight success."
04:01 Number 7. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
04:04 Just over a year after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from official royal duties,
04:10 they sat down for a two-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey. In this conversation,
04:15 the couple detailed shocking accusations against the British tabloid and the royal family.
04:20 "Were you silent or were you silenced?"
04:23 The discussion touched on claims that Markle was pushed to consider taking her own life,
04:28 alleged remarks about their son's skin color, as well as Harry's strained relationship with
04:33 his family. After it premiered, the interview received polarizing reactions, with U.S.
04:38 audiences being largely sympathetic towards the couple, while those in the U.K. supported
04:43 the royal family. "And what I was seeing was history repeating itself, but more perhaps,
04:49 or definitely far more dangerous, because then you add race in, and you add social media in.
04:54 And when I'm talking about history repeating itself, I'm talking about my mother."
04:57 In the U.K., it resulted in thousands of complaints to media regulator Ofcom
05:03 and elicited a rare response from Buckingham Palace.
05:07 "Loneliness along with an onslaught of negative headlines that the palace would not refute."
05:12 Number 6. Jada Pinkett Smith
05:14 In 2020, Hollywood couple Will and Jada Pinkett Smith lit an online firestorm with details about
05:21 their unconventional marriage and entanglements in a Red Table Talk interview. "As time went on,
05:28 I got into a different kind of entanglement with August."
05:33 Since then, the couple has consistently made headlines with more startling revelations,
05:38 as well as the infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars. While promoting her 2023 memoir,
05:44 "Worthy," on the Today Show, Jada Pinkett Smith dropped another bombshell.
05:48 She and Will had been separated since 2016. "So from the year 2016, which is seven years ago now,
05:58 y'all have been apart." Many fans were stunned by this, especially since the couple had presented
06:06 a united front in public. Others were fed up with the constant revelations about their marriage,
06:11 accusing Smith of being a narcissist and exploiting Will to boost her book sales.
06:16 "He invited her because he thought this was his crowning moment in Hollywood and he wanted her
06:21 there even though they weren't together." "She was a part of his life."
06:24 "Yeah, and then for him to say my wife, I think that surprised her."
06:28 Number 5. Paula Deen. "You basically said you were exhausted. You told me you were distraught.
06:33 How are you doing today?" In 2013, this celebrity Southern chef found herself in hot water after
06:39 admitting to using racial slurs in the past. The revelation led to swift and severe consequences.
06:45 Deen was dropped by several sponsors and dismissed by her longtime partners,
06:50 the Food Network. After releasing a series of strange apology videos online,
06:55 Deen appeared in an even stranger interview on the Today Show to discuss the controversy.
07:01 Instead of taking full responsibility and apologizing, the chef portrayed herself as a
07:06 victim and urged anyone without fault to cast the first stone. "I would never, never, and I can
07:14 truthfully say in my life, I have never with any intention hurt anybody on purpose." If anything,
07:22 the interview, which was deemed insincere, only exacerbated Deen's troubles. She continued to
07:28 lose more partnerships and eventually faded from the spotlight. "We are ending our relationship
07:33 with Paula Deen," it announced, "and will not place new orders."
07:37 Number 4. Prince Andrew. Following the 2008 conviction of American financier
07:43 Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges, his connection with British royal Prince Andrew came
07:48 under scrutiny. Allegations soon arose that Andrew had participated in sexual activities with a
07:54 minor, which were arranged by Epstein. "Prince Andrew denied he ever saw his former friend with
08:00 underage girls." In November 2019, a few months after Epstein's death by his own hands, Andrew
08:06 participated in a BBC interview, addressing the allegations and his connection with the convicted
08:11 financier. "At the time, there was no indication to me or anybody else that that was what he was
08:21 doing." The interview was a complete failure. The prince was lambasted for his perceived lack
08:27 of remorse for the victims and his self-absorbed demeanor. As a result of the backlash, Andrew
08:33 stepped down from his official duties and was subsequently stripped of his military titles
08:38 and royal patronages. "Did you trust him?" "Yes, I think I probably did. But again,
08:45 I don't go into a friendship looking for the wrong thing."
08:55 Number 3. Michael Jackson. "I see God in the face of children. And,
09:02 man, I just love being around that all the time." For a significant portion of his career,
09:08 Michael Jackson faced multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior towards minors.
09:14 In 2003, Jackson granted a series of interviews to British journalist Martin Bashir, later released
09:20 as the documentary "Living with Michael Jackson." Their discussions ranged from family and career
09:26 to his plastic surgery and the misconduct allegations. Jackson admitted to sharing the
09:31 same bed with children, but without any sexual intent. "But to my utter astonishment,
09:36 I discovered that children were still sleeping over." Nevertheless, the revelation sparked
09:42 outrage, leading to the singer's indictment on multiple criminal charges. He was ultimately
09:47 acquitted in 2005. Years later, Bashir was criticized by Jackson's family for manipulating
09:53 him to secure the interview, similar to how he misled Princess Diana into granting him their
09:58 infamous 1996 panorama interview. "It took a long time to understand why people were so interested
10:05 in me. But I assumed it was because my husband had done a lot of wonderful work." Number 2.
10:10 Charlie Sheen. "I have one speed, I have one gear. Go!" "How do you survive that?" "Because I'm me.
10:17 Because I'm me. I'm different. I just have a different constitution. I have a different brain.
10:21 I have a different heart. I have a different, you know, I get tiger blood, man." Once upon a time,
10:26 Charlie Sheen was on top of the world. He was the highest paid actor on television,
10:30 earning nearly $2 million per episode. But while his professional life seemingly flourished,
10:36 Sheen's personal life was in disarray. "I'm bi-winning. I win here and I win there." He
10:41 had faced domestic violence charges and grappled with substance use disorder,
10:46 which required multiple stints in rehab. In 2011, Sheen engaged in a public feud with
10:52 Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre. "And I can find no serenity until I accept that person,
10:57 place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
11:02 Accept me, Chuck." This culminated in a series of bizarre interviews in which the actor claimed to
11:10 be a warlock with tiger blood who was undeniably winning. This all proved too much for the network,
11:16 resulting in the swift termination of Sheen's contract. He was eventually replaced with Ashton
11:21 Kutcher. "You can replace me with some other guy? Go ahead. It won't be the same."
11:24 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
11:30 our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
11:36 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
11:40 Number 1. R. Kelly "I'm very tired of all of the, uh, lies. I've been hearing things and,
11:48 you know, and seeing things on the blogs and, you know, I'm just, I'm just tired." R&B musician R.
11:54 Kelly has been dogged by allegations of sexual assault and predatory behavior for most of his
11:59 career. In 2019, the Lifetime docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly, examined these allegations and brought
12:07 renewed attention to them. Amid the escalating controversy, Kelly took to CBS This Morning for
12:12 an interview with Gayle King. The singer vehemently denied the claims, at one point leaping
12:18 to his feet and yelling at the cameras. If he had hoped that it would help his case, then he was
12:24 dead wrong. "You're killing me, man! This is not about music! I'm trying to have a relationship
12:31 with my kids!" To many, it all seemed like an elaborate performance. A few months later,
12:37 Kelly was indicted on a series of federal charges that would ultimately land him behind bars.
12:42 "30 years! That's the sentence for singer R. Kelly!"
12:46 What other controversial celeb interviews did not make our list? Spill them in the comments below.
12:51 "I had never felt this feeling before, which was a primal urge to lash out."
13:01 "I had never felt this feeling before, which was a primal urge to lash out."
13:09 "I had never felt this feeling before, which was a primal urge to lash out."
13:16 "I had never felt this feeling before, which was a primal urge to lash out."