This article was originally published on JustStarz
Mark Wahlberg Got a Little Over-Excited
Many talk show hosts allow their guests to drink alcohol both in the green room and while the cameras are rolling, and Graham Norton is one of those talk show hosts. And while this normally results in entertaining interviews, Mark Wahlberg is proof that sometimes things can go a little too far. When he appeared on Graham's show back in 2013, it was clear to see that he had gotten a little too over-excited.
It was clear for the audience to hear that Mark was slurring his speech, and then things got even weirder when Mark decided to climb over the couch to sit right on Graham's lap, while also stroking his chest.
Jim Carrey Decided to Have an Existential Crisis
You can almost always count on comedians to give a hilariously funny interview. Most of the time, they're constantly cracking jokes and keeping the vibe as lighthearted as possible. But Jim Carrey seemed to have an "off" day when he was interviewed by Catt Sadler during the Harper's Bazaar Icons Party. When Catt decided to ask Jim a few questions, it appeared as though the comedian was having an existential crisis on camera.
As Jim stared off into the distance, he said things like "I don't believe in personalities, I don't believe that you exist, but there is a wonderful fragrance in the air."
Serena Williams Wanted to Be Anywhere Else
Have you ever noticed that sports people are taken off to the sidelines and interviewed almost as soon as their game or match is over? While this is all part and parcel of the job, this must be exhausting. And shortly after a U.S. Open match, Serena Williams proved that she wasn't a fan of this practice either. Especially when a reporter asked why she wasn't smiling during the press conference.
Instead of forcing a smile, Serena decided to tell the truth; she just didn't want to be there! It was almost midnight by that point, and she simply wanted to go home and decompress.
Scarlett Johansson Was Quizzed About Her Underwear
There seems to be a double standard when it comes to actors and actresses during press tours, especially when it comes to the questions asked by reporters. And Scarlett Johansson proved that she'd had enough of this double standard while promoting The Avengers. After all, she knew that the reporter wasn't going to ask the male actors whether they were wearing underwear underneath their superhero costumes, so why did he have the right to ask her?
Instead of answering the question, Scarlett decided to ask one back. She asked, "What is going on? Since when did people start asking each other in interviews about their underwear?" Go, Scarlett!
Samuel L. Jackson Was Mistaken for Laurence Fishburne
The first rule of interviewing school is that you always need to know who you're interviewing. A little research goes a long way - especially as we live in a world full of Wikipedia pages and IMDb information at our fingertips. But things didn't exactly go as planned when Sam Rubin asked Samuel L. Jackson about a Super Bowl commercial he thought he'd starred in. However, that had been Laurence Fishburne.
Triggered by the event, Samuel L. Jackson didn't hold back. He yelled at the interviewer: "I'm not Laurence Fishburne! We may all be black and famous, but we don't all look alike!"
Keira Knightley Hilariously Shut Down a Rude Comment
Actors no longer just act. Alongside their busy schedules, they also need to attend red-carpet events, celebrity parties, and press tours. It must be exhausting - but that doesn't give any interviewer the right to comment on a celebrity's appearance. Unfortunately, one reporter didn't get that memo when they were interviewing Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch ahead of the release of The Imitation Game. During this awkward interview, the interviewer told Keira that she looked "a little worn out."
Benedict immediately came to his co-stars' defense, reminding the interviewer that Keira was one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Of course, Keira also shut down the comment in her own way!
Joan Rivers Stormed off Camera
It was a sad day when Joan Rivers passed away in 2014. The comedian and actress was a force to be reckoned with, and while her sense of humor did rub people the wrong way, Joan was pushed to her limits during one interview with CNN reporter Fredricka Whitfield. Although Joan was on our screens to promote her book, Fredricka wanted to dig deeper into Joan's scandalous past, and the comedian didn't appreciate it.
Instead of politely asking the interviewer to stop, Joan opted to start shouting and eventually told Fredricka to "shut up." She then finished off the interview rather prematurely when she stormed off camera.
Dakota Johnson and Melanie Griffith Had an Awkward Encounter
Due to their different surnames, many people don't realize that Melanie Griffith and Dakota Johnson are mother and daughter. And while we can only assume that they support each other wholeheartedly, it was revealed during a live interview that Melanie hadn't exactly seen all of her daughter's on-screen exploits. When an interviewer asked the actress whether she'd seen her daughter in Fifty Shades of Grey, Melanie awkwardly replied that she hadn't.
It was clear during the interview that Dakota was taken aback by her mother's response, and hurt by the fact that she hadn't seen it. And it was cringe-worthy for everyone watching at home.
Jesse Eisenberg Outright Insulted the Interviewer
We're no experts when it comes to celebrity interviews, but we have a feeling that most publicists will tell their clients not to insult the person interviewing them. However, it seems as though Jesse Eisenberg didn't get that memo during the press tour for Now You See Me. Although interviewer Romina Puga hoped to ask some important questions about the movie, it was clear from the get-go that their personalities clashed.
Jesse went on to call her the "Carrot Top of interviewers," and accused her of being "basic" in her interview style. And while Romina tried to joke it off, she couldn't help but call him a "jerk."
Jessica Simpson Didn't Know How to Answer Questions
Although The Ellen DeGeneres Show was pushed off the air due to complaints of bullying and toxic workplace experiences, the TV host interviewed hundreds of guests before her time came to an end. One of those guests was Jessica Simpson. However, her interview will go down in history as one of the most awkward of all time - and even Ellen had no choice but to simply stare at the camera, bemused, during this interview.
Although Ellen tried to ask Jessica questions about her career, life, and her relationship with her husband, the singer seemed to have a hard time stringing a sentence together. She couldn't even tell Ellen how long she'd been married!
Quentin Tarantino Made Sure to Stand His Ground
As one of the most revered film directors in Hollywood history, it should come as no surprise to learn that Quentin Tarantino has fans across the globe. But not everyone likes him, and it was clear during their interview that reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy had a bone to pick with the filmmaker. He wanted to know whether Quentin thought there was a correlation between his movies and violence in the real world. However, Quentin wasn't impressed.
The filmmaker quickly shut the reporter down, telling Krishnan that he wasn't "biting" and that he was shutting his question down immediately. Of course, fans congratulated Tarantino for his impressive response.
Kourtney Kardashian Pretended to Freeze On-Screen
Although many members of the Kardashian family love being in the spotlight, Kourtney Kardashian has been extremely open about the fact that she prefers a quieter life with her kids. Perhaps that's why she decided to outright ignore Australian reporters during an interview back in 2016. Kourtney had been asked about her sister Kim's Paris robbery when she just froze, and refused to answer the question. However, you could see she was still blinking!
The silence was deafening as the reporters waited patiently (and very awkwardly) for an answer. Eventually, after a very long pause, Kourtney decided to answer the question in her own way.
Mila Kunis Shut Down an Interviewer in Russian
Mila Kunis was born in Ukraine, which means that she's fluent in Russian. And this came in pretty handy when she and co-star Justin Timberlake headed to Moscow for the press tour of Friends With Benefits. When one particular reporter asked Justin a question (in Russian) about why a career in music wasn't enough for him, Mila didn't hold back. She wanted to defend her friend and co-star, especially as he didn't speak the language.
Mila quipped back at the reporter and asked a few questions in return. She said, "What would you rather him do? Why are you here?" As you can imagine, this instantly shut the reporter down.
Chelsea Handler Didn't Hold Back on Piers Morgan
We probably don't need to tell you that Piers Morgan is one of the most divisive interviewers out there. While many celebrities have enjoyed talking to him, others have hated every second - and Chelsea proved that she was part of the latter category during a 2014 interview with Piers. In fact, one of the first things she said when the cameras started rolling was that he was a "terrible interviewer" because he had ignored her during the commercial break.
Chelsea went on to say that "You have to pay attention to the guest you invited on your show. It doesn't matter how interesting I am, you signed up for this job."
Paul Rudd Revealed His "Titanic" Secret
Some celebrity interviews are revealing in an awkward way, but others are pretty revealing in another way! That's certainly the case when it comes to Paul Rudd. The actor seems to save his most interesting snippets of information for his televised interviews, and he did just that while on The Graham Norton Show in 2019. During this interview, he revealed that he was the one who encouraged Leonardo DiCaprio to accept the role in Titanic!
This news came as a huge shock to fans of the movie, who couldn't imagine the film without the main protagonist. So, fans came out of the woodwork to thank Paul for his persuasive nature.
Lauren Conrad Expertly Dodged an Awkward Question
Back in 2014, Lauren Conrad was everywhere. The former star of The Hills was booked up to appear on countless TV and radio shows, and during one particular radio show segment, she was tasked with answering questions from fans. However, the question chosen instantly put a dampener on the situation, especially as this question was of a sexual nature, and asked her about her favorite sexual position. However, Lauren handled it like a pro.
Instead of ignoring the question completely, Lauren dodged the awkwardness and curated the perfect answer; CEO! Even the radio show host was impressed with her response, and almost fell off his chair in the process.
Daniel Radcliffe Was Embarrassed by Another Celeb
Although celebrities often get the chance to be interviewed by themselves, sometimes they have to share the spotlight with another celebrity. And during his appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Harry Potter legend Daniel Radcliffe shared the couch with British actress Miriam Margoyles. Daniel obviously wanted to speak about his life since his days at Hogwarts and how it had been almost two decades since the first movie came out, but Miriam decided to embarrass him instead.
While it was clear to everyone that Daniel had changed since his days as a wizard, Miriam opted to point out the obvious instead. Luckily, Daniel seemed to take the embarrassment on the chin.
Helena Bonham Carter Was Roasted by Rihanna
British actress Helena Bonham Carter is known for being a little eccentric, but it seems as though that's why fans love her so much. She puts her eccentricities into her on-screen characters, but she also doesn't seem too different in real life. Her hair is just as wild, her personality is just as bold, and her clothes are just as bright. But when Helena was asked why she had never been invited to the MET Gala before, Rihanna decided to roast her.
The singer decided to tell the actress that the reason she hadn't been invited before was because "you wear dresses like that." Luckily, Helena didn't seem too offended by Ri-Ri's comment!
Vin Diesel Was Outed by Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres has caused countless uncomfortable celebrity interview moments, and none were quite as awkward as when she outed Vin Diesel on the couch. During this interview, the actor was promoting his upcoming movie Fast & Furious 8 - and Ellen wanted to specifically talk about his on-screen kiss with Charlize Theron in the movie. Although Vin stated that the kiss was "the best kiss ever," Ellen decided to share Charlize's thoughts in front of the audience.
Charlize reportedly said that Vin was "frozen like a dead fish" when they were kissing, and it was clear to see from the actor's reaction that he was taken aback by this comment. He stood up and shouted, "What?!"
Mariah Carey Was Forced to Reveal Her Pregnancy
Over the years, Ellen DeGeneres revealed countless celebrity secrets on her show. And while many celebrities were happy to reveal their news on such a famous show, Mariah Carey wasn't one of them. In 2008, Ellen invited Mariah onto the show - and at the time, she knew that the singer was pregnant, but the world didn't. In an effort to force Mariah to reveal her news, Ellen tried to get the singer to drink champagne.
Mariah wasn't ready to reveal her news, and eventually started crying on the couch while saying "I can't believe you did this to me, Ellen." To make matters worse, Mariah had a miscarriage shortly after this interview aired.
Tom Hardy Fought Back Against a Reporter
Tom Hardy is one of the most accomplished actors in Hollywood, but with fame and fortune come reporters who think they know everything about his life. And while attending a press conference for his Legend movie, Tom decided to fight back against a reporter who asked him a strange question that didn't really ask a question at all. But Tom immediately saw through what the reporter was trying to say - and he didn't like it.
As Tom knew that the reporter was trying to pry into his love life and sexuality, Tom decided to ask him why he was asking such a question. When the reporter couldn't come up with an answer, the actor simply replied with "thank you."
Robert Pattinson's Publicist Cut His Interview Short
In 2009, Robert Pattinson was everywhere. The actor rose to fame thanks to his role in the Twilight Saga, and talk around him grew even louder when it was rumored that he was dating his co-star Kristen Stewart in real life. However, Robert and his publicist wanted to keep this relationship a secret. Because of this, they specifically told radio host Ryan Seacrest to avoid any questions about Robert's love life during the interview.
However, Ryan didn't play by the rules and decided to ask Robert about Kristen anyway. So, it didn't take long for Robert's publicist to quickly shut down the whole interview.
Bruce Willis Just Didn't Want to Be There
Bruce Willis is one of the most talented actors out there, and while it's been confirmed that he's since taken a step back from acting to focus on his health, fans still remember his past work - and his past interviews! However, this one didn't go down well, as it was clear to everyone watching at home that Bruce just didn't want to be there to promote his movie Red 2.
During the press tour, Bruce grabbed his toweling robe, told the reporter that he wasn't an actor, and that the "fun part" of making a movie had been over for a while. It was all kinds of awkward.
Lady Gaga Repeated Herself Again and Again
When Lady Gaga made the move from music sensation to actress, people naturally had doubts about her acting ability. However, during the A Star is Born press tour, she made sure to thank one person who had stood by her side the whole time; her co-star, Bradley Cooper. During one particular interview, she said, "There can be 100 people in the room and 99 don't believe in you. And just one person believes in you, and that was him."
And while this sentiment was beautiful, to begin with, Lady Gaga confused everyone when she repeated the same lines over and over again in different interviews. In the end, it seemed as though she was joking!
Ariana Shut Down a Sexist Interviewer
Ariana Grande may be regarded as a super sweet singing sensation, but she has proven on countless occasions that she has a bite to her - especially when she's asked stupid questions. During a radio interview for KPWR, Ariana was confused when the host asked her whether she would rather stop wearing makeup or give up her phone. As you can see from her facial expression, she wasn't impressed with the options.
Instead of answering the question, Ariana asked the host whether he thought women only cared about those two things. But the host didn't seem to get the memo and continued to ask Ariana whether she could live without her phone.
Cara Delevingne Was Told to Go Take a Nap
They say that you need to "start as you mean to go on," but Cara Delevingne's interview with Good Day Sacramento didn't start off on the right foot when they accidentally called her "Carla." The British actress didn't take too kindly to this mix-up, and it showed on her face. However, the interviewers continued to make things even worse when they told Cara that she didn't look too excited to be speaking to them.
As the awkward interview progressed, the interviewers told Cara to "take a little nap" and that she should "maybe get a Red Bull." In the end, the whole thing was just super awkward.
Jennifer Lawrence Scolded an Interviewer
There's nothing worse than being called out in front of hundreds of people, but that didn't stop Jennifer Lawrence from doing just that during a press conference for the Golden Globes in 2016. As a reporter stood up and asked the actress a question, he opted to read his question from his phone. Unfortunately, Jennifer didn't take too kindly to that, and told him that "You can't live your whole life behind your phone, bro."
Although the reporter tried to laugh off the awkwardness and ask her where she sees herself in her career, Jennifer continued the tirade by saying "We're at the Golden Globes. If you'd put your phone down, you'd know that."
Rihanna Was Just Super Disappointed
Although Rihanna is known first and foremost as a singer, she has dipped her toe into the world of acting over the years. And during the press tour for her movie Battleship, she was expecting reporters to ask her about her experiences on a movie set, and her dreams for the rest of her career. However, that wasn't the case at all. Instead, people wanted to know whether the rumors of her dating Ashton Kutcher were true.
Instead of answering the question, Rihanna decided to share her disappointment with the reporter. She simply responded with, "Wow, what a disappointing question that was." Of course, the whole room was taken aback.
Robert Downey Jr. Lost His Patience
During movie press tours, the idea is that the actors are interviewed and quizzed about their roles in the movie. And while talk does sometimes stray into new territory, this is normally agreed upon beforehand by the celebrity and their publicist. However, that wasn't the case in 2015 when Krishnan Guru-Murthy interviewed Robert Downey Jr. ahead of his Iron Man release. Instead of talking about the movie, Krishnan wanted to talk about Robert's scandalous past.
As you can imagine, Robert wasn't comfortable speaking on such matters. And after trying to shut down the conversation politely, he grew increasingly annoyed. In the end, he stormed away from the reporter.
Cardi B Started Meowing on Camera
Many celebrities put on a front during interviews. They stay on their best behavior, and they rehearse answers that their publicist has approved. However, this isn't the case for everyone - and it's certainly not the case for rapper Cardi B. She has maintained her eclectic personality throughout her whole career, and she proved this during a bizarre interview on Jimmy Fallon's talk show. In fact, Cardi started meowing on camera!
Not only this, but she also spent a few minutes making noises that just didn't seem to make sense to anyone but her. In the end, Jimmy had no choice but to simply join in.
Leonardo DiCaprio Was Asked the Age-Old Question
There are some questions in life that just need to be answered. Why is the sky blue? Why does evil exist? And was there enough space on the door for both Rose and Jack in Titanic? And while many people still ask themselves the latter question, it seems as though Leonardo DiCaprio is done with it. He proved this during the press tour for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Although Leo sat beside Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, the interviewer only focused on that one question. And no matter how many times he said "No comment," the interviewer just wouldn't let the question go.
Dakota Johnson Called Out Ellen's Lies
Getting caught out in your lies is pretty awkward, and we all felt second-hand embarrassment for Ellen DeGeneres when Dakota Johnson called out the talk show host back in 2019. When the actress appeared on her show, Ellen tried to make Dakota feel bad for not inviting her to her birthday party. However, Dakota wasn't having any of it - especially as the talk show host had actually been invited but turned down the invitation.
Dakota didn't hold back when she said, "No, that's not the truth, Ellen. Ask everybody. Ask Jonathan, your producer." Things went from bad to worse from that moment on, and the awkwardness was all too much.
Russell Brand Felt Like an Alien
When you interview a celebrity, you normally talk to them directly. However, things went from bad to worse for Russell Brand when he appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe TV show. As the hosts started talking to themselves about how it was to be in a room with the comedian and actor, Russell didn't like it. He stated that "You're talking about me as if I'm not here, and as if I'm an extraterrestrial."
Unfortunately, things didn't get any better when one of the hosts called him "Willy Brand" as a joke. As you can imagine, Russell didn't enjoy the "casual objectification" at all, and told them so!
Leslie Mann and Dakota Johnson Objectified an Interviewer
Many actors appear on press tours alongside each other, and this was no different for Leslie Mann and Dakota Johnson during the press tour for How to be Single. But rather than answering the questions asked by the interviewer, the two women decided to objectify the man in front of them instead. In fact, they called him "hot guy" rather than using his actual name, and asked him to remove his clothes for them.
Although the interviewer seemed to enjoy the attention, it's safe to say that the interview didn't go as planned, and some viewers felt that it was just way too awkward.
Taylor Swift Was Reduced to Tears
Ellen DeGeneres has interviewed some of the biggest names in the business, and she was once one of the most respected talk show hosts out there. However, that all changed when her show was hit with claims of bullying - and old interviews were pulled out from the archive to reportedly prove that point. One of them was an interview with Taylor Swift, who was reduced to tears by Ellen.
During this interview, Ellen consistently pushed Taylor to reveal secrets about her love life, and whether she was dating Zac Efron at the time. Taylor was so uncomfortable during the interview, and so were the viewers.
Meg Ryan Cut Short the Interview
One of the downsides of being famous is that people feel as though they know everything about your life, and Meg Ryan experienced this problem while being interviewed by Michael Parkinson. During this interview, Michael repeated something that she had reportedly said in the past, about her being uncomfortable in the spotlight. Although Meg told the reporter that she didn't remember ever saying that, he continued to probe her on the matter.
As the interview progressed, it was clear to see that Meg was becoming more and more uncomfortable. In the end, she chose to "wrap" the interview sooner than was originally planned.
Sarah Ferguson Demanded the Footage Be Deleted
Sarah Ferguson is not just any celebrity; she also has royal ties. Because of this, she has even more pressure on her shoulders to appear composed during interviews. However, she struggled to uphold this rule in 2011 when she appeared on the Australian version of 60 Minutes. As the Duchess of York was quizzed about her latest scandal, she grew increasingly annoyed and visibly rolled her eyes on countless occasions.
As if that wasn't enough, Sarah also demanded that footage of the interview be deleted as she decided to ultimately storm off the set and away from the interviewer. It was so awkward!
Paris Hilton Walked off Without a Word
Paris Hilton seems to be having a second-coming right now, but there was a time when she was just considered to be a ditzy reality star socialite. This was certainly the case in 2011 when she was asked to appear on Good Morning America, and it was clear that the interviewers didn't see her as a reputable celebrity. Because of this, they asked her silly questions about her fame, and whether she thought her "moment" had passed.
Paris didn't appreciate being made to look like a dumb blonde, and after a short glance at her publicist off-screen, she knew there was only one thing she could go. So, she walked off without a word!
Harry Belafonte Fell Asleep
It was a hugely sad day when Harry Belafonte passed away, and there's no doubt about the fact that his music will live on for centuries to come. And while we can all remember his music, we can also remember this hilariously awkward interview from 2011. During this interview, Harry was meant to be talking about his newest release. However, a technical malfunction meant that he couldn't hear the interviewer in the studio.
While he was waiting, Harry closed his eyes and had a little nap! At home, all we could hear was the interviewer shouting "Harry, wake up!" while her colleagues laughed at the sidelines.
Justin Bieber Was Made to Look Dumb
Justin Bieber has been in the limelight since he was a teenager, which means he's appeared in more television and radio interviews than you could count. But in 2012, he was made to look pretty dumb when David Letterman called him out for having a couple of tattoos. The talk show host told the young singer to cool down on the tattoos as he didn't want to look like the Sistine Chapel.
And when Justin made it clear that he didn't know what the Sistine Chapel was when he said, "I'm not going for the Sixteenth Chapel," David laughed and joked about Canadian high schools.