Reporters are getting increasingly more daring when interviewing stars these days.
Cara Delevingne sat through four incredibly awkward minutes Tuesday with Good Day Sacramento anchors to promote her film “Paper Towns.” The model-turned-actress’ sarcastic answers and irritated facial expressions drew criticism from the show’s hosts, who concluded the live shot as soon as they picked up on her negative cues.
“We’ll let you go and take a little nap, maybe get a Red Bull,” one of the anchors joked, referring to Delevingne’s previous statement about lacking energy. They continued to poke fun of her cranky state after the satellite interview was disconnected.
Here are 11 other awkward interviews that went viral:
Mark Wahlberg
Jake Tapper’s interview for CNN with Mark Wahlberg and the real-life Navy Seal he portrayed in “Lone Survivor,” Marcus Luttrell, hit a few sour notes when Tapper incorporated his anti-war beliefs into his questions. On several occasions, he referred to the deaths as “senseless,” which Luttrell took offense to.
Luttrell, frustrated with the line of questioning, said to Tapper: “We spend our whole lives training to defend this country and then we were sent over there by this country, so you’re telling me that, because we were over there doing what we were told by our country, that it was senseless and my guys died for nothing? That’s what you said.”
Bruce Willis & Mary-Louise Parker
Magic 105.4’s radio interview with Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker went from bad to worse when the “Red 2” actor made it apparent that he wasn’t amused to be speaking to reporter Jamie Edwards. Though he tried his best to shrug off Willis’ cold responses and push on with the interview, the actor didn’t make it easy on him.
“Bruce, I can imagine you’d just love to get in a car and just drive off. I can imagine you doing the whole Route 66 thing one day,” Edwards said.
“I’m thinking about driving right now, I can hardly keep my mind on this interview,” Willis answered.
Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig
KWGN’s Chris Parente mixed up Kristen Wiig’s films in an interview with Bill Hader to promote their film “The Skeleton Twins.” Parente asked Wiig for advice on how being nude on-screen, to both actors’ surprise, before realizing he had confused “The Skeleton Twins” with “Welcome to Me.” Hader called him out for not watching the movie beforehand.
Thankfully for Parente, the stars’ sense of humor kicked in and everyone was able to laugh off the blunder. Too bad the interview was done live.
Blake Anderson
In this case, the Fox 19 Now TV morning show in Cincinnati was entirely not to blame. The “Dope” actor, annoyed with how early the interview was, dropped an unexpected F-bomb on air.
“It’s very early, and I’m very tried,” Anderson said. “And you know the Warriors won the f–king championship.”
The Cincinnati reporter pulled him off the air and apologized profusely to viewers at home.
Justin Timberlake
The singer sat through over six incredibly awkward minutes with Brazilian comedian Sabrina Sato who concluded the interview with the “Runner, Runner” star by offering him a very special gift: an autographed mold of her butt in a box. The nod to hit “SNL” digital short “My Dick in a Box” — for which Timberlake collaborated with Andy Samberg to present women with exactly what the song title implies — made the singer laugh, but it’s not clear whether he actually thought it was funny, or just creepy.
Also read: Justin Timberlake’s New Track Is a (Technical) Knockout (Audio)
Mila Kunis
BBC Radio 1 sent rookie reporter Chris Stark to interview the actress promoting “Oz the Great and Powerful,” but the Sam Raimi movie did not come up. Stark spent most of the time talking about how hot she is, how nervous he is, his boys and drinking Jägerbombs — which led to an invitation for Kunis to join him and his boys at their local pub, as well as a soccer match.
Quentin Tarantino
When Channel 4 News reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy pushed Quentin Tarantino to defend his position that there is no link between movie violence and real-life violence during a press junket promoting “Django Unchained” in the United Kingdom, the director grew increasingly frustrated.
“Do not ask me a question like that. I’m not biting. I refuse your question,” Tarantino said. “I’m not your slave and you’re not my master. You can’t make me dance to your tune. I’m not a monkey.”
Monkey or not, the reporter continued the line of questioning, and the conversation becomes increasingly heated.
Robert Downey Jr
Channel 4 News reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s interview tactics proved just as unsuccessful when he spoke with Robert Downey Jr. about “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” in which he veered the conversation away from Marvel movies and toward the actor’s personal affairs.
After politely addressing the reporter’s questions, Downey tried to subtly bring the discussion back to its focus. “Are we promoting a movie?” he asked, chuckling. Once it was clear Guru-Murthy was intent on digging deeper, the actor stood up and walked out.
Rihanna
An interview on Australian morning news program “Sunrise” became “unexpectedly controversial” when correspondent Natalie Barr asked Rihanna about her how frustrating it is to be linked to other Hollywood stars — like Chris Brown or Ashton Kutcher — in the tabloids.
“Very frustrating. Almost as frustrating as being asked about it,” Rihanna shot back. “What’s the point?” Wondering “What’s the point” of continuing this interview, Rihanna abruptly ended it.
Jesse Eisenberg
During a press junket for “Now You See Me,” entertainment blogger Romina Puga made everybody watching her interview with the Oscar nominee ask themselves,” Is Jesse Eisenberg being a total jerk, or is this how he flirts with women?”
“Do you know the comedian Carrot Top?” Eisenberg asked.
“Yes, horrible,” Puga responded.
“Well, you are like the Carrot Top of interviewers,” Eisenberg said. “Don’t cry now. Cry after the interview is over, otherwise it will look like I’m responsible for it.”
Jennifer Aniston
BBC Radio 1 personality Chris Stark returned this summer, and brought his unusual interviewing approach to a “We’re the Millers” press junket where he spoke to Jennifer Aniston about a number of topics including steak dinners at strip clubs, CGI testicles, Ryan Gosling and the coincidental anagram found in her name.
“Did you know that your name is an anagram of ‘finer not in jeans?’ It’s a good fact that one. It means all the letters in ‘finer not in jeans’ is Jennifer Aniston,” Stark said. “It’s like a premonition for your role.”