15 Most Awkward Interviews Ever

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10 – Carrie Bickmore and John Lydon,

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  • John Lydon, AKA former Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten, lived up to his stage name when he hurled abuse at Australian TV presenter Carrie Bickmore during a 2013 episode of The Project.
  • The veteran punk-rocker exploded when Bickmore asked for his thoughts on Margaret Thatcher’s death. He repeatedly shouted at her to shut up, saying ‘Listen, when a man is talking do not interrupt.’
  • The interruption Lydon perceived was because of an alleged satellite delay. Lydon finished up by lecturing Bickmore and her co-hosts about manners, which is funny because irony!

9 – Jesse Eisenberg, Jerk?,

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  • In 2013, Zombieland star Jesse Eisenberg copped criticism for calling to task blogger Romina Puga’s poor interviewing skills. Puga opens with a question about Eisenberg’s Now You See Me co-star Morgan Freeman. She refers to him as ‘Freeman’, causing Eisenberg to interject. ‘Freeman? Who are you? What are you on a baseball team with him?’
  • Eisenberg then teases Puga for writing her admittedly simplistic interview questions on her hand. Puga claims to be offended, but is smiling throughout.
  • To the naked eye, the pair’s banter resembles flirting, but many viewers interpreted Eisenberg as rude. It might be fair to say, in this age of fluff interviews, that we’re unconditioned to seeing Eisenberg’s blunt and dry-witted answering style.
  • Eisenberg’s critics drew parallels with egotistical Facebook founder Mark Zucherberg, whom Eisenberg famously portrayed in 2012’s acclaimed The Social Network. Reports say these critics have unfriended him.

8 – Rosie O’Donnell and Tom Selleck,

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  • In 1999, moustache-growing extraordinaire Tom Selleck appeared on The Rosie O’Donnell Show to promote his new movie, The Love Letter. But O’Donnell, who is a passionate socialist, appeared to have other ideas when she brought up Selleck’s affiliation with the National Rifle Association.
  • Selleck gracefully declined to comment, explaining that he didn’t see himself as an NRA spokesperson and felt the contentious issue was inappropriate for an entertainment interview.
  • O’Donnell, however, persisted, explaining that Selleck, as an NRA associate, ought to take responsibility for the recent gun-related mishaps in the media. The interview then curdled into awkward sauce.

7 – Harrison Ford on Conan O’Brien,

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  • In 2009, the notoriously grouchy Harrison Ford appeared a little worse for wear during his interview on the Conan O’Brien Show. The Indian Jones star wore a vacant expression and spoke in a soft, measured drawl. He also stroked the felt arm of his chair for pretty much the entire interview.
  • Ford is delightfully loopy during this interview, and fails to recognise that the joke is on him much of the time. When Conan asks if he would ever like to be in a stupid comedy, Ford endearingly enthuses ‘Are you kidding? I love stupid!’
  • Ford then makes fun of K19’s title – the very movie he’s there to promote – and, when given $1,000 to reveal a titbit about Star Wars Episode VII, confirms, with a straight face, what everyone already knew: ‘I hear they’re making another one.’

6 – Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman,

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  • 2009 was the year Joaquin Phoenix, brother of River Phoenix and star of Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, attempted to transform himself from Hollywood A-Lister to scruffy, bearded rapper. It was an unlikely reinvention, and he was heavily mocked for it.
  • Phoenix’s appearance marks one of the most memorable Late Show episodes in the show’s over-two-decade run. Making fun of guests is kind of Letterman’s schtick, and it proved open season for him when mumbling, homeless-looking Phoenix stepped out on stage.
  • Phoenix’s bizarre appearance was ultimately revealed as a stunt for his mockumentary I’m Still Here. The film sought to deconstruct vapid celebrity culture, with the Letterman interview forming a central scene.
  • Crucially, Letterman did not know the interview was a piece of performance art. His barbed comments are a hundred percent genuine.

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