Top 20 Celebrity Interviews That Broke the Internet

Jimmy Fallon was thrown for a loop when Nicole Kidman joined him for an interview in 2015. During their conversation on "The Tonight Show," the Oscar-winning actress told a story about how a friend set her and Jimmy up years earlier. However, Fallon didn't understand the assignment, completely missing the fact that it had the potential to be something romantic. Kidman confessed that the "SNL" alum barely spoke and played “video games" during their not-so-romantic tryst. Things worked out for the best, and the two are happily married to other people. But that doesn't make this story any less embarrassing for Fallon – or any less amusing for the audience.

Amid Kanye West’s ongoing high-profile split from Kim Kardashian, he and Julia Fox became a hot item – and topic of conversation. During her interview on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, the Italian-born model and actress opened up about her relationship with the Grammy winner. She agreed with her characterization as his muse, and when asked to expand, Fox referenced her previous experience as an artistic influence. Her…unique pronunciation of the movie title created a soundbite that blew up on TikTok. Although Ye and Fox have apparently broken up, this quote will live on forever.

Ever since “The Social Network,” we associate Jesse Eisenberg with his narcissistic turn as Mark Zuckerberg. Even years after the movie, he still seemed to be pushing that persona. While promoting “Now You See Me,” Eisenberg turned up the rudeness to full blast during an interview with Romina Puga. The video starts out bad and just gets worse. He makes fun of Puga for how she refers to Morgan Freeman, accuses her of writing questions on her hand, and even compares her to Carrot Top. It’s not a compliment, in this case. Eisenberg caught a lot of flack for this one back in the day, and it’s no wonder why.

If you’ve ever watched a compilation video of interviewers asking women horribly sexist questions, chances are this one was featured. In 2015, “Entertainment Tonight”’s Nancy O’Dell tried to compliment Taylor Swift’s outfit, but really went about it in the wrong way. She insinuates that the star will be leaving the event well-accompanied, with her pick of romantic partners. The camera pans over to Swift’s face, and the look says it all. Her deadpan response quickly took the Internet by storm and became a power move strong, independent women everywhere cheered on. Girls who go home to their cats need representation too!

For an interview to break the Internet, it usually has to have a quote that people latch onto. “I’m shutting your butt down” is a pretty good one, as far as we’re concerned! In an interview with Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Quentin Tarantino got a little testy when asked about the connection between real and fictional violence. Guru-Murthy questions the director repeatedly about a hypothetical link, but to no avail. Realizing that he isn’t taking the hint, Tarantino finally utters that impeccable one-liner. Needless to say, it was wildly tense, and the internet went crazy.

#15: Jada Pinkett Smith with Will Smith “Red Table Talk” (2018-)

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The idea of bringing someone to the Red Table has infiltrated our culture since Jada Pinkett Smith started her show in 2018. With so many dramatic episodes already in the bag, it didn’t seem like she could deliver any more surprises. But in 2020, we were proven wrong. In the aftermath of stories and rumors surrounding an affair and open marriage, Pinkett Smith did the unthinkable and brought herself to the Red Table. She and her husband Will Smith discussed the particulars of their marriage in a way we had never seen before. The Internet ran with it, with memes of a stricken looking Will flooding Twitter for days on end.

For a time in the early 2010s, Charlie Sheen’s behavior had become prime tabloid fodder. All through 2011, the “Two and a Half Men” star made increasingly erratic statements. He notably behaved bizarrely during a sit down with NBC’s Jeff Rossen, and got harder and harder to understand throughout. His illogical claims left numerous viewers baffled. The actor gave a number of other interviews during this time where he made similarly strange statements, giving way to many quotes that permeated the culture. After all, who could forget tiger blood?

Pro-tip: don’t ask Tom Cruise about his exes. Peter Overton clearly didn’t get the memo when he conducted this 2005 interview, about four years after Cruise and Nicole Kidman had split. Overton brings up Kidman and asks the actor numerous questions about her throughout the segment. Cruise immediately gets a little tense, but it’s not until a few moments in that he hits a breaking point. He firmly tells the interviewer that he’s gone too far. When Overton tries to defend his actions, he’s hit with a scathing comeback. Who knew personal responsibility meant so much to Cruise?

Howard Stern isn’t exactly known for his … tact when it comes to interacting with women he finds attractive. But he crosses the line multiple times during this interview with Uma Thurman. Luckily for us, she doesn’t take any of it lying down. The best part of the whole segment, however, made the rounds online. At the time, Thurman had recently separated from Ethan Hawke amidst a cheating scandal. When she begins to say something nice about her ex, Stern can’t believe it. But she doesn’t care. It’s a hysterical moment, and totally catches the host off-guard. Thurman’s subsequent comments clearly don’t sit well with him either.

Be honest – we’ve all probably thought about what it might be like to get hit on by Chris Evans. Well, journalist Sade Spence basically got to live the dream. During the press tour for the 2019 film “Knives Out,” Evans and co-star Ana de Armas made the rounds together – and he got everyone’s attention with one moment. When Spence initially sits down, he compliments her boots and even makes a cute joke. He’s done speaking, but the camera doesn’t leave his face. Evans proceeds to give the interviewer a once-over before giving her a little smirk. When we say people were thirsting all over this footage on the internet, we’re not exaggerating

Sometimes, interviews go viral for all the wrong reasons. But in this case, we just love watching these two bros being bros. While promoting their 2009 comedy “I Love You, Man,” Paul Rudd and Jason Segel gave one of the wackiest interviews the Internet has ever had the pleasure of seeing. People immediately began to speculate that the two were under the influence – and we can certainly see why! They go off on tangent after tangent, notably telling a lengthy story about an imaginary creature named Gideon. That’s saying nothing of the half-baked Tom Cruise impression. The pair could barely hold it together, and folks online had a great time joining in on their fun.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by David Letterman. If you’re Lindsay Lohan, your arm probably just shot way up. Lohan’s personal struggles have been cruelly litigated in the press for most of her life, and in 2013 Letterman piled on. Despite not clearing the questions with the actress or her team beforehand, he not-so-kindly asked her about rehab. Though clearly surprised, Lohan does her best to take it in stride and answer. When Letterman won’t stop pressing her, however, she fights back. The segment began circulating again years later, with many rightly criticizing the host’s crude approach.

It’s almost unbelievable how sexist some of the things female celebrities get asked are. But it feels like no one has borne the brunt of preposterous questions quite like Scarlett Johansson. In an interview for the 2012 movie “The Avengers,” she faced one of her most inappropriate ones yet – and got a viral moment out of it. Interviewer Jerry Penacoli asked the actress if she wore underwear under her Black Widow costume. She rightly responded with incredulity, swiftly exposing how invasive and prevalent such a line of questioning is. She shut the whole thing down pretty quickly, and the rest is Internet history.

It’s no secret that Robert Downey Jr. has struggled with addiction. For years, the actor has worked hard to focus on his recovery and career. During a press tour for “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy prodded Downey about his father and his struggles with substance use in the past. The actor was so put off by the question, he actually stood up and stormed out. Downey Jr. later said he had no regrets after walking out of the interview, and if anything, wished he’d done it sooner.

Megan Fox is one in a long line of female celebrities who has been wrongly maligned by misogynistic media. In recent years, she’s talked about how she was treated, and notably brought up one interview with Jimmy Kimmel that she believes showcases how sexualized she was. We have to agree. In 2009, Fox told Kimmel a story about how in “Bad Boys II,” director Michael Bay made her dance under a waterfall while wearing a bikini. She was just a teenager at the time. Instead of showing concern, the host and his audience all laughed at the anecdote. The interview resurfaced recently, with Kimmel becoming the subject of a lot of criticism.

It was the interview that rocked the world. When Princess Diana sat down with former BBC journalist Martin Bashir in 1995, tens of millions of people reportedly tuned in. During the programme, the late Princess of Wales spoke out about the fallout of her marriage to Prince Charles and his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Anybody who was old enough to watch this interaction likely still remembers it today. And over twenty-five years after it aired, some harsh truths about the interview came to light. An investigation revealed that Bashir acquired fake banknotes to use as a tactic to earn the Princess’ trust, prompting her sons to voice their disappointment. As for Bashir, well, he left the BBC before these findings were made public.

We’ve got to give it up to Gayle King for this one – we’re not sure if we could have kept our cool. After he was charged for assaulting numerous women, R. Kelly joined her for a sit down chat. The subject matter they’re discussing is intense, to say the least, so there’s never really a calm moment. But at one point, R. Kelly just snaps. He stands up, starts pounding his chest, and yells directly at the camera. Through it all, King never wavers. She stays seated and quiet, waiting for him to finish so the interview can continue. It’s a pretty amazing feat of journalism on her part, and folks online and off stood amazed at her resilience.

#3: Ellen DeGeneres with Dakota Johnson “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (2003-22)

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Ellen DeGeneres has encountered some awkward moments on her talk show. But it’s safe to say that nothing can top her infamous 2019 interview with Dakota Johnson. Things got off to a rocky start when DeGeneres claimed that she wasn’t sent an invite to the “Fifty Shades” starlet’s birthday. But Johnson was quick to affirm that DeGeneres was indeed invited, giving us a viral and extremely quotable moment. The host eventually confessed that she had simply forgotten. She then managed to steer the conversation in a different direction, but the damage was already done. The internet had a good laugh over the mixup, cementing this as one of the cringiest TV interviews to date.

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, the Internet went wild. There was already plenty of buzz surrounding the interview, and it didn’t disappoint. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex dropped some mighty powerful truth bombs regarding their experience with the British monarchy throughout the special. Everything from their departure to allegations of racism was addressed. Even Oprah Winfrey herself was taken aback by some of their revelations. While the tension was palpable, the couple maintained a united front, showing the world that – despite everything they had endured – their marriage was stronger than ever.

#1: Oprah Winfrey with Tom Cruise “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (1986-2011)

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For better or for worse, love has been said to make people do questionable things. But Tom Cruise’s infamous couch-jumping instance was truly something else. The "Mission Impossible" star visited Oprah on her daytime talk show in 2005, during his whirlwind romance with Katie Holmes. High on infatuation, Cruise could barely contain himself throughout the interview. In a climactic moment, he turned Winfrey's set into his own personal trampoline by leaping up on her sofa. Nearly 20 years later, this head-scratching moment remains an unforgettable moment in pop culture history.