Cristiano Ronaldo on Piers Morgan Uncensored brings back memories of these 10 damning celebrity interviews
Legendary striker Cristiano Ronaldo's recent interview with Piers Morgan has brought back memories of some of the most controversial and explosive interviews of all time. From Richard Nixon's admission to Meghan Markle's shocking accusations, here's a look at 10 of the most damning celebrity interviews of all time.
FollowWith the advent of television and the internet, the world has, over the years, witnessed a good share of controversial and explosive interviews. These contentious conversations don't always turn out well; over the years, some celebrities have been barred from late-night programmes for being a touch too open or genuine on live television. These televised moments can be incredibly entertaining, but they also have the potential to disclose social inequities and realities, as well as to trigger uncomfortable but essential conversations among viewers.
Legendary Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo's recent interview with Piers Morgan has rocked the football world, as the Manchester United icon opened up about his sensational return to Old Trafford, the tragic loss of his unborn son, the club's evolution post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, life under Erik ten Hag, his teammates and more. The interview, which has now gone viral, has brought back memories of some of the most controversial and explosive celebrity interviews of all time.
10 most infamous and controversial interviews of all time:
1. David Frost's interview with Richard Nixon - 1977
In a 1977 interview with British journalist David Frost, former US President Richard Nixon, who resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal, admitted: "I let down my friends… I let down the country. I let down our system of government, and the dreams of all those young people that ought to get into government but now think it too corrupt… I let the American people down, and I have to carry that burden with me the rest of my life."
2. Martin Bashir's interview with Princess Diana - 1995
In a 1995 interview with BBC's Martin Bashir, Princess of Wales Diana, controversially revealed: "[Bulimia] was a symptom of what was going on in my marriage. I was crying out for help, but giving the wrong signals, and people were using my bulimia as a coat on a hanger. They decided that was the problem - Diana was unstable… I was aware that Prince Charles had started seeing Camilla Parker Bowles again, but I wasn't in a position to do anything about it…"
3. Diane Sawyer's interview with Witney Houston - 2002
In 2002, Diane Sawyer surprised Witney Houston's fans by asking her about using crack cocaine, to which the American singer unflinchingly responded: "Yeah, my bones, yeah. I'm 5'7 and thin. I can understand what you mean…. I can believe what you feel. I can believe that. But do you know? Do you really know? Now I'll grant you, I've partied. But there have been times when I know I've been going through a lot of emotional stress. And my eating habits were awful Let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I've made too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is whack."
4. Oprah Winfrey's interview with Michael Jackson - 1993
Oprah Winfrey's iconic interview with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is perhaps one of the most-watched celebrity interviews of all time. The iconic talk show host asked the singer if he bleached his skin, to which MJ responded: "As I know of, there's no such thing as skin bleaching… I have never seen it. I don't know what it is... This is the situation — I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin. It's something I cannot help. But when people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me."
5. Barbara Walters interview with Sean Connery - 1987
In 1987, James Bond actor Sean Connery reiterated his views on slapping a woman was okay if 'justified' in an interview with Barbara Walters. "I haven't changed my opinion…not at all… I don't think it's that bad. It depends entirely on the circumstances and if it merits it… if you have tried everything else… Women are pretty good at this. They can't leave it alone. They want to have the last word, but then you give them the last word, but they're not happy with the last one. They want to say it again and get into a really provocative situation. Then, I think it's absolutely right… It's the last resort. He's not going to do it because he wants to do it," he had said.
6. Barbara Walters' interview with Monica Lewinsky - 1999
The scandalous relationship between President Clinton and one of his interns, Monica Lewinsky, which he originally denied but was ultimately impeached for after confessing his extramarital affair on national television, became his abiding legacy of 1998. Opening up about the same in a 1999 interview with Barbara Walters, Lewinsky said, "There are some days that I regret that the relationship ever started and there are some days that I just regret that I ever confided in Linda Tripp."
7. Oprah Winfrey's interview with Lance Armstrong - 2013
Lance Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France champion, insisted that he never used drugs to enhance his performance throughout his career. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the cyclist finally confessed to cheating, and when he was asked Armstrong if he had ever used steroids to win his tour titles, the cyclist simply responded: "Yes." He added, "I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times… I didn't invent the [doping] culture and I didn't try to stop the culture... and the sport is now paying the price of that and I'm sorry for that."
Also read: From Shane Warne to Maria Sharapova: 5 top athletes who were banned for doping
8. Matt Lauer's interview with Tom Cruise - 2005
Tom Cruise sat down for what would quickly become a controversial interview with then-Today show host Matt Lauer on his press tour for War of the Worlds in 2005. After a brief discussion of the movie, Lauer grilled Cruise on his beliefs towards psychiatry and mental health, as well as the criticisms he levelled in a prior interview of actress Brooke Shields' choice to take medicine for her postpartum depression.
9. Andrea Canning's interview with Charlie Sheen
Actor Charlie Sheen had been admitted to the hospital for a drug-related incident just before his infamous 2011 remarks, which went on to become popular catchphrases for more than a decade. Sheen continued his weird on-camera behaviour, which the media had previously linked to his drug use, when the Two and a Half Men actor was being interviewed by ABC. Sheen asserted that he was clean, but he did acknowledge that because he was composed of "tiger blood," he could consume up to 7 grammes of cocaine at once. When asked whether or not he had bipolar disorder, the actor replied that he was "winning."
10. Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Much of life behind the castle walls remained a mystery until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke out to Oprah Winfrey about their experiences living and working with the royal family. They made surprising claims during their appearance with the talk show host that the family had mistreated the newlyweds because they wouldn't accept Markle because of her race.
Also read: Meghan Markle tells Oprah: I had suicidal thoughts while at the palace
