Have you ever wondered what happened between Jimmy Fallon and Dakota Johnson? What about
the time Jimmy Kimmel aired a clip of Joaquin Phoenix yelling at a crew member? To that
end, we scoured the internet in order to track down the most tense and awkward talk show
interviews ever.
Who would've thought that dentistry could be so scandalous? While on The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote her movie The Peanut Butter Falcon, Dakota Johnson reluctantly
shared the story behind the disappearance of her tooth gap. The story of the orthodontic
change had been in the headlines and Jimmy Fallon wasted no time bringing it up.
"The fact that this is a newsworthy event in our world right now is pretty Chaka Khan
to me.”
Johnson went on to explain that a permanent retainer she'd had since age 13 had been taken
out, as it was causing the actress neck pain. As a result, her tooth gap had closed naturally.
The whole awkward exchange escalated when Fallon tapped on Johnson's teeth with his
finger to see if they were fake, while the audience let out some tense giggles.
Before the interview moved on, Johnson had some choice words.
"I'm sad about my gap tooth too, so I'd really appreciate some privacy at this time."
She might have said it in a joking manner, but the whole talk show interview was too
awkward to tell.
We think it should be a rule to not bring up a lady's age during an interview, but Megyn
Kelly didn't get the memo on an episode of Today. While interviewing Jane Fonda and Robert
Redford during a segment on NBC, Kelly took the interview in a really awkward direction.
Fonda and Redford were on the show to talk about their movie Our Souls At Night, but
Kelly ended up expressing her thoughts on Fonda's appearance. After first calling Fonda
an example of graceful aging, Kelly added:
"You admit you've had work done, which I think is to your credit, but you look amazing."
That's when things got really awkward on the talk show.
The line of questioning was clearly not something that Fonda was prepared for, because the look
on her face really said it all.
"We really want to talk about that now?"
Fonda asked, clearly uncomfortable. The actress quickly pivoted the conversation back to the
film she was there to promote.
Russell Brand's appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe might go down in history as one of the
most awkward on-air interviews to ever take place, thanks to the hosts' lack of preparation
and the interviewee's expectations. While promoting his 2013 tour The Messiah Complex,
the comedian sat down with host Mika Brzezinski. Clearly unprepared for Brand's specific conversational
style and intellect, Brzezinski quickly handed the reins to BBC's Katty Kay, but things went
downhill from there.
As the hosts started speaking over Brand, referring to him by the first name "Willy"
instead of Russell — clearly poking fun at his expense — the comedian grew visibly
frustrated and eventually called out the hosts for their, quote, "casual objectification"
of him.
In an opinion column later published in The Guardian, Brand wrote about his awkward experience
on the talk show.
"When I landed in my chair, on camera, and was introduced to the show's hosts...it became
clear that, in spite of the show's stated left-leaning inclination, the frequency they
were actually broadcasting was the shrill, white noise of dumb current affairs."
We all know that talk show hosts have had to adjust their shows during the pandemic,
opting for Zoom calls instead of live appearances. Of course, some technical difficulties are
expected, but this Lady Gaga interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon was
downright awkward. After announcing a global benefit to support healthcare workers that
would feature the "Bad Romance" singer, host Jimmy Fallon called Gaga while on the air
to discuss. What he got was a very unprepared voice on the other end.
"I can't, Jimmy. I can't talk right now. I'm really sorry, it's just like a really weird
time."
Gaga then went on to ask Fallon if she was actually on TV at that moment, clearly unaware
of what was really going on.
Gaga quickly pivoted and told Fallon that she'd talk at a later date, and once again
re-appeared on his show the following Monday.
"We weren't quite ready yet, and I really appreciate you being so nice about it."
Overall, the cringe-worthy exchange serves as a friendly reminder to always confirm your
Zoom dates before you hop on the call.
We'll admit that it's tough to take compliment after compliment from someone you don't know
well, and this interview on The Wendy Williams Show is full of that. While interviewing musician
Billy Ray Cyrus, Williams dished out praises like there was no tomorrow — clearly at
the discomfort of her guest.
"You're a very good looking man."
"Oh thank you. Thank you."
"And so is your wife."
Yep... you heard that correctly.
Cyrus seemed to brush off the odd comment about his wife, but things got even more awkward
when Williams forgot his daughter's name. Williams referred to Cyrus's daughter as someone
whose name started with a T and as someone who had recently been on MTV without ever
actually landing on the real name. The Cyrus daughter she was referring to was actually
Noah Cyrus, who, by the way, has said that growing up in her sister Miley's shadow was,
quote, "unbearable." Cyrus had to correct the host while sitting next to her! We're
just going to file this one away under "Most awkward talk show interview ever."
It's common knowledge that Kanye West is bold in his political commentary. But things got
awkward when the rapper and reality television star appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2018.
Host Jimmy Kimmel blatantly questioned West about Donald Trump, specifically seeking his
thoughts on Trump's stance on race issues in contrast with Kanye's famous declaration
that George W. Bush did not care about Black people.
"It makes me wonder what makes you think that Donald Trump does, or any people at all."
The question seemed to resonate with West, but instead of answering, the singer tilted
his head to one side and said nothing. Due to the silence on West's part, Kimmel then
announced that they should go to a commercial break.
After the awkward appearance, West quickly took to Twitter to defend himself, saying
that he and Kimmel had a good chat, writing:
"I'm reading that I was stumped by a question. Let me clarify the click bait. I wasn't stumped.
I wasn't given a chance to answer the question."
Some awkward talk show interviews have truly stood the test of time, and this 2017 one
is right up there with the rest. When on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote
his album, country singer Blake Shelton was clearly irritated by Fallon's jokes, lack
of questions, and overall interview tone.
What started as a light-hearted joke poking fun at Shelton's album cover quickly shifted
direction after Fallon took things a little too far. Shelton eventually accused Fallon
of, quote, "making fun" of his album cover, and arguably disengaged from the interview
by looking down at the floor.
The country singer followed the awkward interaction by saying,
"Can you try to help me sell records for once?"
And he even asked the host if he had plans to actually conduct an interview. Even a well-intentioned
line of jokes can sometimes go a little too far.
We saved the most awkward talk show interview for last, and this one even hurts our hearts
a little. While on Jimmy Kimmel Live! actor Joaquin Phoenix became visibly upset due to
the tense nature of Kimmel's questioning.
Kimmel started the interview by asking Phoenix slightly invasive questions about his weight
loss, and the nature of the questions clearly threw Phoenix for a loop. But the situation
escalated when Kimmel showed footage from the set of Joker, which starred Phoenix in
the title role. In the short clip, Phoenix can be seen scolding someone named Larry (who
turned out to be the film's cinematographer) for making him break his concentration.
Cut back to the interview and Phoenix was clearly upset that the clip had been shown.
"I'm a little embarrassed. I'm sorry about that. Sorry you guys had to see that."
Phoenix continued by saying that his publicist would issue a formal statement the following
day about the awkward exchange before simply asking if the interview could move on.
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