As anyone who’s ever conducted – or attempted to conduct – an interview with a celebrity can tell you, the world of celebrity PR is a very strange one, and sometimes, personalities just don’t mesh.
The result? Awkward interviews that drag on, or in the worst (or best) case scenario, devolve into passive-aggressive slanging matches that make for brilliant car crash TV; it’s horrific, yet we’re unable to look away.
Sometimes celebrities are just jet-lagged or tired, and a question touches them the wrong way, while sometimes, the celebs are just being douchebags. There’s been plenty of controversy this week over Bruce Willis’ less than inspiring interview on The One Show, which demonstrates his clearly buzzing enthusiasm for the latest entry in the Die Hard franchise, and that caused us to pore through the archives to uncover the 10 most cringe-worthy celebrity interviews.
If you can make it to #1 without spasming into a cringe-induced coma, well done indeed…
10. Joaquin Phoenix In Character On Letterman
We start off our list with the gentlest of the 10 interviews, because it actually has a degree of artifice to it, which reduces the cringe factor somewhat.
Phoenix had previously announced his retirement from acting to become a rapper, though this in fact turned out to be a hoax, and part of Phoenix’s divisive mockumentary I’m Still Here. Phoenix appears on Letterman’s show to sell the hoax, kitted out in a well-grown beard and sunglasses, while Letterman attempts to talk about Phoenix’s new film at the time, Two Lovers.
Phoenix resorts to giving brief answers, causing Letterman to sharply retort, “What can you tell us about your days with the Unabomber?”. Letterman resorts to ripping it out of a mostly non-responsive Phoenix, delivering the brilliant closing line, “Joaquin, I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight”. Though saved somewhat by the fact it turned out to be a work (at least on Phoenix’s part), it’s still painful to watch.
We are currently seeking TV contributors on WhatCulture. To find out more about the perks of being a TV contributor, click here.
6 Comments
Surely the Eamonn Holmes / David Blaine interview was worth an honorable mention. Blaine just sits there mumbling…and thats before we get to the crazy self drawn eye on his palm…weirdo.
Yeah I was surprised that interview didn’t make it too, and Bruce Willis has been responsible for a few cringe worthy interviews recently.
I don’t know, I’d almost have to put the Jon Stewart/Crossfire interview on a list of the 10 Best. Jon is ON FIRE in that interview.
How could you miss Tom Hardy on Jonathan Ross?
The big one for me was Gene Simmons on NPR with Terry Gross. Gene acts like a total a$$ and at one point evens says that eventually all women will come to him with their legs open..even you Terry. Rolling Stone even called him out on it!!
Agreed with the Cruise/Lauer interview, that was the turning point for most people when they realised how nuts Cruise was. The Tarantino interview wasn’t that bad though. Great phrase “I’m shutting your butt down”. That Bruce Willis interview on the One Show last week was pretty cringeworthy!