Hugh Grant’s awkward interview with Ashley Graham before the Oscars shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, according to a veteran red carpet host
Entertainment journalist and E! News host Jason Kennedy called out Grant’s attitude during interviews after video of the actor’s uncomfortable interaction with Graham went viral, showing him giving very brief answers to some of the model’s questions.
“Don’t worry @ashleygraham….now you see why Hugh Grant isn’t one of our favorites to interview live,” Kennedy wrote on Twitter. “Well done working around his nonsense.”
When one Twitter user claimed that Graham “could have kept in mind [Grant’s] history of interviews” and asked if there were “any number of other people to speak with” on the red carpet, Kennedy came to the model’s defence.
“Not the case, it’s pre produced for a broadcast like that, not her call,” he responded.
Grant, who’s known for his sarcasm, has faced ample criticism for his interaction with Graham on Sunday night during Countdown to the Oscars event on ABC. Their conversation started with Graham asking the Notting Hill star if he was excited by the prospect of any certain actors winning. In response, he said: “No, not one in particular.”
She then gave him a second question and asked: “Well what are you wearing tonight, then?” In response, he simply said: “Just my suit.”
For her final question, she asked “like to be in Glass Onion”, to which he replied, “Well, I’m barely in it. I’m in it for about three seconds.” She responded: “Yeah, but still, you showed up and you had fun, right?”, to which Grant said: “Um, almost.”
The model went on to shake the actor’s hand to wrap up the interview, before he appeared to shake his head in confusion as he walked away.
This interaction prompted mixed responses from viewers, with some calling it the “most uncomfortable thing ever” and claiming that Grant “was so rude”. Fans were also quick to praise Graham, as they expressed that “her grace” during the interview was “admirable”.
Some viewers have continued to come to Grant’s defence, with comedian David Baddiel calling out fans on social media who have criticized the actor’s behaviour.
“Those on here having a go at Hugh Grant for being rude on the Oscars red carpet have perhaps mixed up the word rude with the word real,” he tweeted. “Those piling on to him reveal, again, how much social media has become a scolding machine.”
“All Grant does is respond naturally to the questions, but the opportunity is seen to tell him off, and therefore to say, underneath ‘I am a better person than this’ and pat they come,’” Baddiel added.
On Monday, Graham addressed the viral interview after a reporter asked if she had taken offence to Grant’s responses.
“You know what, my mama told me to kill people with kindness, so there you go,” Graham told TMZ. While she didn’t elaborate on the moment further, she did reiterated that she “had such a good time” while interviewing celebrities on the red carpet.
