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Sometimes, celebrities' interview questions are pre-approved, but other times, they have absolutely no idea what they're about to be asked. Occasionally, the interviews cross the line and get called out.
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Here are 13 times celebs defended other celebs from rude or inappropriate interviewers:
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1. During TIFF 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch politely called out an off-camera interviewer for making a remark about his "The Imitation Game" costar Keira Knightley.
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Here's the full video, which opens with this exchange:
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2. Similarly, when film critic Mark Kermode called Keira Knightley "Ikea Knightley, as her acting was so wooden," Cumberbatch "punched [him] on the arm...in jest."
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via Associated Press
Knightley told Elle, "When I saw [Benedict] again, I said 'Did you punch a journalist?' and he was like, 'I fucking did'. Everybody needs a friend like that."
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3. While promoting "Neighbors 2," Kiersey Clemons, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Beanie Feldstein shut down an interviewer who kept asking them about costar Zac Efron's body.
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You can watch the full interview below, with this part starting at the 1:47 mark:
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4. While Tyler Perry and Janet Jackson were promoting "Why Did I Get Married?," a trio of reporters kept asking her about the wardrobe malfunction Justin Timberlake caused by ripping her top during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. However, Perry took the questions for her, redirecting the conversation to their movie.
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Here's the full clip, with this part starting at the 2:04 mark:
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5. During a joint interview, Winona Ryder called out a question referring to her "Stranger Things" costar David Harbour's weight.
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You can watch the full interview below, with this part starting at the 10:28 mark:
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6. During the "Stranger Things" panel at SDCC 2017, moderator Patton Oswalt made a sexual joke about then-14-year-old Finn Wolfhard's name. At first, Wolfhard tried to play it off, but as Oswalt tried to keep it going, both Joe Keery and David Harbour stepped away from their mics to encourage the young actor to ignore him.
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via Associated Press
When the clip resurfaced on TikTok in 2022, fellow costar Caleb McLaughlin commented, "Joe's really Mom bro."
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via Associated Press
Oswalt previously apologized for his comments in 2017. Quote tweeting the clip, he said, "WHY did it happen? 'Cuz I thought I was being funny but was actually a graceless asshole. I've since apologized and, I hope, learned."
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Here's the full video, with this bit happening at the 9:23 mark:
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7. On "Watch What Happens Live," Zoe Saldaña stood up for her "Crossroads" costar, Britney Spears, when a viewer tried to get her to talk about the controversy surrounding a leaked recording of the pop star singing without auto-tune.
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Here's the full clip:
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8. When journalist/comedian Rafael Cortez interviewed "Orange Is the New Black" costars Samira Wiley and Natasha Lyonne, they called him out on a misogynistic question.
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Here's the full clip, with this part starting at the 0:19 mark:
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9. During a joint "Oprah" interview promoting "The Birdcage," Robin Williams jumped in to protect Nathan Lane — who wasn't ready yet to publicly come out as gay — from a question about his sexuality.
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via Associated Press
Reflecting on that moment in 2023, Lane told Today, "I don't think Oprah was trying to out me, but I said to Robin beforehand, 'I'm not prepared. I'm so scared of going out there and talking to Oprah. I'm not prepared to discuss that I'm gay on national television. I'm not ready.' And he said, 'Oh, it's alright, don't worry about it. We don't have to talk about it. We won't talk about it.'"
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You can watch the full interview below, but this part starts at the 16:50 mark:
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10. When Benedict Wong and Xóchitl Gómez were jointly interviewed to promote "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," AsiaOne asked how she felt about Disney refusing to cut scenes with LGBTQ+ references for Saudi Arabian censors. She replied, "It's a big deal that America [Chavez, her character] is in this movie...Although, yes, my name may be circled within hate and stuff, but it's okay."
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Wong cut in, "It's not okay. It's not okay. We have to all collectively understand that...she auditioned aged 13 and she joined us aged 14, one of the youngest actors to join the MCU of a film of that magnitude. You know, she's just a young girl playing her role and full praise for that...So there's a real level of shame for all those trolls that are cowards not to actually put their face on, and they should feel a deep shame of what they're doing."
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He continued, "Let's all just play nice. Let's all just enjoy...what we are representing. It's sad that fans in that country won't get to see this as yet. But all we are doing is radiating representation, voicing the voiceless. And that's all that we can do — represent people so that they can be seen."
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11. During a "Friends with Benefits" press conference in Moscow, Mila Kunis shut down a reporter who asked Justin Timberlake why he wanted to be in movies.
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After hearing the translation of the exchange, Timberlake gestured at Kunis and joked, "This is my bodyguard."
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Watch the full clip below:
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12. During an "Avengers" press conference, a journalist asked two questions — a deep one for Robert Downey Jr. and a diet one for Scarlett Johansson. He playfully called the reporter out, refused to answer her question, then let Johansson have the floor.
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Here's the full video, with this exchange taking place at the 3:03 mark:
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13. And finally, when Cameron Diaz appeared on KIIS 106.5's "Kyle & Jackie O" show in 2014, co-host Kyle Sandilands compared her onscreen daughter to her "Charlie's Angel" costar and best friend Drew Barrymore's "ET" character. Then, he added, "Let's hope she misses out on the Drew Barrymore drug years, because those were a great thing to watch, but not so good to be in, I'd imagine."
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Diaz replied, "I'm sure, Kyle, you've never been through a drug phase, have you? Or alcoholism or anything like that? Pretty clean…always did it right? Congratulations."
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Sandilands replied, "Hang on a second, but I'm friends with Benji [Madden, Cameron's husband]."
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via Associated Press
Then, despite Jackie O's attempts to redirect the conversation, Diaz ended the interview, saying, "We have to go now…. sorry, they're wrapping us up."