This past year has brought us a lot of really great celeb interview moments, but there's also been quite a few viral moments that came across as pretty awkward or uncomfortable.
Here are 13 of the most awkward and uncomfy celeb interview moments from 2023:
1. On the Oscars red carpet, Ashley Graham interviewed Hugh Grant, who only gave short, sarcastic answers — and he rolled his eyes when they were done.
Reflecting on the interview a few months later, Ashley told the Sunday Times, "I could tell he didn't want to be there, that was obvious. Before, we were chatting — he was very pleasant. Then we started rolling, and he was like, 'I don't want to be here,' and I was, 'OK, work with me! I get it! But, like, work with me?' ... I was trying my hardest to be my nice, upbeat self, and he gave me what he had."
Watch the full clip below:
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2. In a since-deleted TikTok, a red carpet reporter from Access Hollywood asked Pedro Pascal to read some thirst tweets aloud without getting prior consent from the actor. He read them to himself but declined to read any aloud.
3. At the Broadway premiere of New York, New York in April, Rye Myers asked Tony Danza a New York-related question. The actor's response led Rye to call him the "rudest celebrity [he] ever interviewed" when he shared the clip on TikTok.
However, the two later made amends. In a follow-up TikTok, Rye said, "[Tony] called me to apologize and squash the beef. It was great to hear from him and certainly much appreciated."
Here's the full clip:
4. On an episode of the podcast Sofia with an F, guest Abby Lee Miller and host Sofia Franklyn talked about All the Right Moves (1983), which features Tom Cruise as a star high school football player. Abby said, "Oh, that's my downfall. I like the high school football players. I still like them."
Sofia replied that she liked the "coaches," but Abby reiterated what she'd said, adding, "Not one that used to be in high school, but one that is." Then, Sofia ended the interview.
After clips from the interview went viral, Abby responded on Instagram. In a video, she said, "I do like those hot, athletic, muscular types of guys — the jocks. I always have, and I always will. And they must be able to go out to a club, gamble in Vegas, [and] rent an ADA-compliant, handicap-accessible van. If you saw the movie All the Right Moves starring Tom Cruise playing a high school football star, then you will know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you haven't, go watch it, and then you'll know."
5. During an episode of his podcast Armchair Expert, host Dax Shepard and his guest Jonathan Van Ness discussed gender-affirming care and transgender rights. Dax tried to "debate" the topic with JVN, who ended up in tears and "exhausted" by the end. Over the course of the interview, Dax made several damaging and harmful comments.
At one point in the podcast, when Dax acknowledged that JVN shouldn't have been put in that situation, they said, "I wanted to come chat about my podcast. I could just cry because I'm so tired of having to fight for little kids because they just want to be included. I wish that people were as passionate about little kids being able to be included or grow up as they were about fictitious women's fairness in sports. I have to tell you, I am very tired."
Later, when JVN reflected on the Armchair Expert interview while appearing on the podcast Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, he said, "If you listen to podcasts, you know what an edit is — that was an edit, and that was an edit that I asked for approval or insight into, and was not given. So, after that conversation, I did ask for a transcript and what that was going to look or sound like, because that was quite a conversation, and I was not given insight into that. There were some significant pieces of that conversation that were left out that did ultimately have me in tears."
Then, on the podcast Not Skinny But Not Fat, he said, "I thought [Dax] was very brave to release it... Oh, to be clear, he was very edited. That was not exactly what went down. I would say it was worse... It was really gaslighty to say, you know, 'I can agree with you on nine out of ten things, but then I disagree on one thing and you're gonna label me.' Well, he wasn't agreeing with me on nine out of ten. He was actually disagreeing with me on every single thing that I said. Every single thing I said, he had pushback. Every single thing."
6. On Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?, the host seemingly insinuated that Adam Driver's appearance was something he had to "overcome" in order to become a movie star.
7. When Amelia Dimoldenberg — who's known for her intentionally awkward persona — interviewed Jack Antonoff at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, fans weren't sure if he was genuinely being rude to her or if he was trying (and failing) to match her energy.
You can watch the full clip below:
8. When Funny Marco interviewed Southside and G Herbo on his show Open Thoughts, the two guests insulted him, mocked him, and seemingly tried to exclude him on his own show.
Addressing criticism of his guests' behavior in a Facebook post, Marco wrote, "I understand a lot of y'all mad about the interview. I was upset while it was going on. But I understand I got a job to do & one thing about me, I respect people on my show. I didn't want to match they Energy. It's so many L's I took on my Journey I wish I could show I don't hide anything. So I feel it was only right to put the episode out myself. And just learn from that episode & move on. Thank who support me it's a mindset thing [sic]."
Southside also responded to the backlash in an Instagram video, saying, "I fuck with Marco...Marco's just funny."
Here's the full interview, with this part starting at the 8:55 mark:
View this video on YouTube
9. When Emma Chamberlain interviewed Doja Cat — who was dressed to theme as Karl Lagerfeld's cat, Choupette — at the Met Gala, the singer only responded, well, like a cat.
You can watch the full clip below:
View this video on YouTube
10. When Liam Neeson appeared on The View to reflect on his long acting career, a lot of the interview focused on cohost Joy Behar's crush on him instead.
Later reflecting on the interview, Liam told Rolling Stone, "I was in the dressing room drinking a cup of tea, turned the TV up, and I thought, oh, this will be great. They're talking about gun violence in America, and I agree that it's an American problem. I go onstage and join the ladies during the break, and I was congratulating them on this discussion. And then our segment starts, and it's just all this BS with Joy [Behar] and Liam Neeson and having a crush, and I've known Whoopi for years and Joy a little bit, but I just wasn't impressed. I'm uncomfortable in those situations, you know? One of the ladies [Sunny Hostin] is a prosecutor, and we had a little chat afterward, and it was a good, intelligent conversation, but then the segment's all about this — oof — 13, 14-year-old crush. It's just a bit embarrassing."
Here's the full clip, with this part starting at the 1:08 mark:
View this video on YouTube
11. On an episode of Love Island USA, contestant Keenan Anunay was voted off, so his partner Kay Kay Gray decided to leave the show as well. When Sarah Hyland, the host, checked in to make sure she was 100% sure, contestant Mike Stark tried to call Sarah out.
Here's the full clip:
View this video on YouTube
12. When Allure asked Gwen Stefani about the criticism she faced in the '00s over her cultural appropriation, specifically of Japanese culture, she said, "[Traveling between California and Japan because of my dad's job at Yamaha for 18 years] was my Japanese influence, and that was a culture that was so rich with tradition, yet so futuristic [with] so much attention to art and detail and discipline and it was fascinating to me...[When I visited Harajuku as an adult], I said, 'My God, I'm Japanese, and I didn't know it.' ... I am, you know."
She continued, "If [people are] going to criticize me for being a fan of something beautiful and sharing that, then I just think that doesn't feel right. I think it was a beautiful time of creativity…a time of the ping-pong match between Harajuku culture and American culture. [It] should be okay to be inspired by other cultures because if we're not allowed, then that's dividing people, right?"
13. And finally, on the Met Gala red carpet, Chloe Fineman interviewed Stella McCartney, Aubrey Plaza, and Madelyn Cline — and she fumbled the names of the two who were more well-known.
You can watch the full clip below, starting at the 1:26:14 mark:
