Do you ever look back on the internet catalogue of sexist interview questions and wonder: what on earth was going on in that journalist’s mind? From Hannah Waddingham being asked by a paparazzi to ‘show some leg’ to the journalist who called Nicola Coughlan “brave” with undertones of body-shaming, the treatment of female celebrities continues to be utterly disappointing at times.
It’s not only the obvious misogynistic comments that pervade the way the media interrogates notable women. It’s also in the questions that they don’t ask.
For example, Scarlett Johansson had to ask a reporter why Black Widow colleague Robert Downey Jr was getting all the existential questions while she was being asked about dieting. Similarly, Jennifer Garner has remarked that while she is constantly asked about how she balances home life and work, her ex-partner Ben Affleck was never asked that question.
Here, we look back some of the best moments when a female celebrity schooled their interviewers on how not to be sexist.
Nicola Coughlan
At a Bridgerton Season Three event in Dublin, star Nicola Coughlan responded in the best way to a reporter who said she was “brave” for filming sex scenes.
“You know, it is hard because I think women with my body type—women with perfect breasts—we don’t get to see ourselves onscreen enough,” the actress said. “And I’m very proud as a member of the perfect breasts community. I hope you enjoy seeing them.”
The female celebrity has been open about filming sex scenes and choosing to be nude, despite public comments about her body.
“It just felt like the biggest ‘f*** you’ to all the conversation surrounding my body; it was amazingly empowering,” she said in an interview with Stylist. We think that sums it up perfectly.
Hannah Waddingham
Hannah Waddingham schooled a reporter at the 2024 Olivier Awards outside London’s Royal Albert Hall where she was posing for photographs.
While the video didn’t catch the paparazzi’s request, which was allegedly to ‘show some leg’, she promptly responded: “Oh my God, you’d never say that to a man, my friend.”
“Don’t be a d*ck, otherwise I’ll move off,” the actress continued, to applause from people nearby. “Don’t say, ‘Show me leg.’ No,” she continued, walking away.
The Ted Lasso actor has said she’s been dealing with sexism since her days of modelling in her twenties and has always called it out. In an interview with Glamour, she said: “I think it’s important that when you see someone behaving badly, you call them out and batter them over the head with it.”
So it’s safe to say this is one female celebrity we want on our side.
Cate Blanchett
Iconic Australian actress Cate Blanchett also clapped back to a nosy camera operator during a red carpet event in 2014, when they chose to do an excruciatingly slow pan up her body while she was answering questions.
“Do you do that to the guys?” she asked point blank. “What do you think is going to happen down there that is so fascinating?”
More recently, the Oscar-winner hit back at media comments about whether Tár was sexist. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Blanchett responded to reactions and commentary that it was anti-woman to make the titular character female.
“I don’t think you could have talked about the corrupting nature of power in as nuanced away as [director] Todd Field has done as a filmmaker if there was a male at the centre of it because we understand so absolutely what that looks like,” she said.
The actress, who won a BAFTA and AACTA International Award for her work in Tár added: “I think that power is a corrupting force no matter what one’s gender is. I think it affects all of us.”
Simone Biles
In 2017, gymnast Simone Biles was completing an after-performance interview on Dancing With The Stars.
She received a series of compliments from the judges for her brilliant performance, but the show’s host decided to ask, “I was waiting for you to smile at some of the compliments, you didn’t.”
She simply responded, “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals.”
Scarlett Johansson
During a press tour for Black Widow, actress Scarlett Johansson was asked, “To get into shape for Black Widow did you have anything special to do in terms of the diet?”
Co-star Robert Downey Jr interjected, clearly having seen Johansson already answer that question many times that day.
“If I’ve learned anything, it’s that people are much more interested in your second question to Scarlett than anything of mine,” he said.
Johansson then questioned why her diet was the only question she was being asked, opposed to her thoughts on the new movie she was there to promote.
“How come you [Downey Jr] get the really interesting existential question and I get the rabbit food question?” she asked.
Johansson was also asked in another interview if she was “able to wear undergarments” during filming. Johansson responded, “You’re like the fifth person who’s asked me this. What is going on? Since when did people start asking each other in interviews about their underwear?”
Helen Mirren
In an extremely controversial interview with Michael Parkinson, Helen Mirren was asked a question that truly boggles the mind.
“Do you find that your figure, your physical attributes, which people always go on about, hinder you, in your pursuit of the ambition of being a successful actress?” he asked her.
She responded, “Serious actress? Because serious actresses can’t have big bosoms, is that what you mean?
Charlize Theron
In an interview, Charlize Theron was asked where the rage came from for a character she played.
Naturally, she was shocked by the question, choosing to point out that as women are people and not just things to be put on a pedestal, we feel a full gambit of emotions like anyone else.
“Surprise, women have that. I’m not the only one,” she clapped back.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway was asked about her fitness regime when promoting her movie Catwoman.
“What is the feline fitness regime?” she was asked.
She politely replied, “It’s all the boring stuff that no one ever wants to do. It’s just watch what you eat and get yourself to the gym.
Yet the interviewer continued to push her, rather than asking questions about the actual film itself. “Any particular workout?” he asked.
She responded, “Are you trying to lose weight? What’s the deal man? You look great. No, no seriously we have to talk about this. What do you want? Are you trying to fit into a catsuit?”
Jennifer Garner
In 2014, Jennifer Garner attended ELLE’s ‘Women In Hollywood’ celebration, where she gave a speech about always being asked questions about her family and never her professional work, while her husband at the time Ben Affleck was never asked about home life.
“Someone asked me, “How do you balance work and family?” But as for work life balance, he (Ben Affleck) said that no one asked him about it that day,” she said.
“As a matter of fact, no one had ever asked him about it. Not once. And we do share the same family. Isn’t it kind of time to change that conversation?
Rihanna
While at an event promoting a new scent that Rihanna created for men, an interviewer decided to ask her about her dating life rather than the fragrance.
“What are you looking for in a man now, to wear this cologne?” they asked.
“I’m not looking for a man. Let’s start there.”
Ariana Grande
On a radio interview, Ariana Grande was asked a series of vapid questions that had nothing to do with her skill as a singer.
“If you could use makeup or your phone one last time, which one would you pick?” she was asked.
She responded, “Is this what you think girls have trouble choosing between? Is this men assuming that’s what girls would have to chose between?”
Serena Williams
In 2016, the CEO of Indian Wells, Raymond Moore, said, “If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night, on my knees, and thank God Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal were born. Because they’ve carried this sport.”
Shocking, we know.
When asked about his comment Serena Williams simply responded, “I don’t think any woman should be down on their knees, thanking anybody like that.”
Emma Watson
Watson received misogynistic criticism from online trolls for wearing a partially sheer top in a cover shoot. They claimed that the imagery somehow contradicted her feminist ideals.
When asked about the controversy in an interview she responded with utter bewilderment.
“[Feminism] is about equality. I really don’t know what my tits have to do with it. It’s very confusing,” she responded.
Taylor Swift
In 2015, pop star Taylor Swift was attending the Grammy Awards and was asked by a female reporter, “You’re going to walk home with more than maybe just a trophy tonight, I think lots of men.”
Swift looked a little shocked by the question, before responding, “I’m not going to walk home with any men tonight. I’m gonna go hang out with my friends, and then I go home to the cats.”
Hayley Williams
Williams made an appearance on a French radio show where she was asked point blank by the male hosts when her last orgasm was.
She responded cooly, “We don’t talk about that on the radio.”
Her bandmate added, “Not cool”, as the interviewers laughed it off.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
