16 Celebs Who Deserve Immediate Apologies For These Inappropriate Or Gross Interview Moments From When They Were Super Young
This post mentions eating disorders and sexual assault.
Celebrities expect TV hosts, podcasters, and reporters to ask about both their project and their personal lives, but sometimes, the interviewers cross the line for shock value. It's especially gross or frustrating when the person being interviewed is super young.
Here are 16 times interviewers asked child or teen celebs weird, uncomfortable, or inappropriate questions:
1.In a resurfaced The Zach Sang Show interview from 2017 (which has since been removed from the show's YouTube channel), Zach Sang and co-host Dan Zolot asked 17-year-old Sabrina Carpenter about sexting and sending nudes.
Here's the full clip:
WHAT THE FUCK IS THISSHE'S 17! oh you will rot in hell pic.twitter.com/xL6Lxg23XQ
— leigh (@xoxoleighg) July 23, 2024
The Zach Sang Show / Via x.com
2.When 17-year-old Justin Bieber appeared on The Talk in 2011, co-host Leah Remini asked him a "would you rather" question that involved being naked.
Watch the full clip below, with this part starting at the 7:05 mark:
3.In 2012, the Mojo in the Morning hosts grilled 18-year-old Harry Styles about hooking up with his fans' moms.
Here's the full clip, with ths part starting at the:58 mark:
4.In 2008, 92.3 WIL-FM radio hosts Cornbread and Pat pressured 18-year-old Taylor Swift into playing Twister with them, despite her attempts to politely refuse.
Here's the full clip:
5.In 2014, Quvenzhané Wallis, who was 11, did an interview with ABC News in a toy store. The interviewer seemingly insinuated she was no longer a child.
Here's the full clip, with this part starting at the 1:35 mark:
6.At the 2013 Academy Awards, an AP reporter reportedly told 9-year-old Best Actress nominee Quvenzhané Wallis, "I'm calling you Annie now."
7.In a 2013 article for Cracked, Matilda actor Mara Wilson wrote, "When I was 7, I went to the premiere for the [1995] movie Nine Months. I don't remember much about the movie beyond Hugh Grant stammering and some placenta jokes, but I do remember a red carpet reporter asking me my opinion about Hugh Grant getting busted for prostitution."
8.In 2002, Connie Chung reportedly asked 16-year-old Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen about their virginity.
9.In 2004, Oprah Winfrey brought up rumors about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who were 17 at the time, allegedly having eating disorders. Ashley gave a wise response.
However, Oprah interrupted to ask about their clothing sizes.
Watch the clip below:
Harpo Productions / Via tiktok.com
10.At SDCC 2017, Stranger Things panel moderator Patton Oswalt joked about 14-year-old Finn Wolfhard having a "pornstar name." Initially, Finn tried to play it off, but Patton continued the joke. Finn's costars David Harbour and Joe Keery seemingly encouraged him to ignore Patton.
Here's the full video, with this part starting at the 9:23 mark:
11.When 18-year-old Marcus Scribner appeared on The Wendy Williams Show in 2018, Wendy said she didn't "want him to date" then asked if he was a virign.
Here's the full clip, with this part starting at the 6:35 mark:
12.In 1981, amidst rampant backlash over her "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing" ad campaign, Brooke Shields agreed to an interview with Barbara Walters. Barbara asked the 15-year-old invasive questions about her body and sexual history.
Here's a clip from the interview:
13.In a 2013 essay for Vulture, Joe Jonas called out a reporter who asked invasive questions about their virginity status when he was 18 and his brother Nick was 15 [Kevin was 20]. He wrote, "I remember this interview with this guy whose entire agenda was to focus on the [purity] rings. He kept pushing the subject, and when we insisted that we didn't want to talk about it, he told us, 'I can write whatever I want,' which terrified us."
14.During 17-year-old Alicia Silverstone's The Jon Stewart Show appearance in 1994, Jon jokingly referenced the infamous "Long Island Lolita" case, where Joey Buttafuoco was charged with statutory rape.
Here's the full clip, with this part starting at the 0:39 mark:
15.In 1999, 17-year-old Britney Spears appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show on the heels of her Kids Choice Awards performance wardrobe malfunction. Rosie lectured her about it.
Here's the full clip, with this part starting at the 0:30 mark:
16.And finally, when Britney Spears appeared on the Dutch show TROS TV in 1999, host Ivo Niehe asked about the pervasive rumors she had breast implants. He even showed a newspaper article speculating about her body.
Here's the clip, with this part starting at the 6:17 mark: