Ashley Graham‘s interview with Hugh Grant during ABC’s Oscars red carpet coverage went viral Sunday afternoon thanks to Grant’s dismissive attitude toward the supermodel. Graham isn’t looking to keep the controversy going, and offered a positive response to the situation. Grant’s behavior drew a mixed response from social media, with some considering him rude and others applauding him for keeping his trademark wit on display.
“My mother always told me to kill ’em with kindness,” Graham told CNN at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty. She later said she felt “very supported” by her fans after the interview with Grant trended on Twitter. Graham reiterated her comments when TMZ caught up with her Monday, agreeing with the outlet’s videographer that you can’t control how someone else will react to questions. The only pain she is feeling Monday morning is in her feet after standing for so long during ABC’s Oscars coverage, she told TMZ.
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Grant attended the Oscars as a presenter and was clearly not interested in doing a red-carpet interview with anyone. The interview with Graham got awkward very quickly, starting with her asking him what he was most excited about at the Oscars. “It’s fascinating. The whole of humanity is here,” he said. “It’s vanity fair.” Graham thought he was referring to Vanity Fair’s afterparty, but he may have been referencing “vanity fair” as a concept in the William Makepeace Thackeray novel.
Grant also could not identify a specific movie he was rooting for at the show, so Graham asked him who he was wearing. “My suit,” he deadpanned. Graham decided to ask him about Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery next, but he only reminded her that he was in it for three seconds. “Well yeah, but still you showed up and had fun right?” Graham asked. “Almost,” Grant replied. Graham then got a signal to wrap up the interview. She told Grant it was “nice to talk to you.” The actor simply replied, “Yup,” and then looked away from Graham to find someone to give his microphone to.
During the 95th Academy Awards, Grant reunited with his Four Weddings and a Funeral co-star Andie MacDowell to present Best Production Design. Grant had another opportunity to show off his deadpan humor, as he joked that they were there to show “the vital importance of using a good moisturizer.” While MacDowell has been using one for “the last 29 years, I’ve never used one in my life,” he said. Then he pointed to MacDowell, noting how she is “still stunning” and he is “basically, a scrotum.”
Grant has never been nominated for an Oscar himself, but he has Emmy nods for The Undoing (2020) and A Very English Scandal (2018). His latest film, Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre, is now in theaters. He also stars in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which opens on March 31.
