Seven LGBT icons who expertly shut down stupid interview questions

After Cara Delevingne’s monumentally awkward interview about her new film, we take a look at seven stars who refused to put up with bad interviews

Lady Gaga

Gaga might have fallen out of favour in recent years – but back in 2009 she was still in full-fledged gay icon mode.

When a Dutch interviewer asked her if sexual references can “undermine music”, Mother Monster bared her claws, ripping into her interviewer.

She said: “I’m not scared. Are you scared?”

“[I love] the gay community… because they don’t ask me that questions like that. They love sexual, strong women who speak their mind.

“If I was a guy, sitting here talking about how I make music because I love fast cars and f***ing girls. You’d call me a rock star.

“But when I do it, because I’m a female… you’re judgemental, and you say that it is distracting. I’m just a rock star.”

Laverne Cox
Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox is an out proud transgender woman – but that doesn’t mean she likes being quizzed about her genitals on national TV.

When Katie Couric decided to start asking Cox and trans model Carmen Carrera about their private parts, Cox responded by attacking the media’s “preoccupation” with surgery.

She said: “I do feel there is a preoccupation with that. The preoccupation with transition and surgery objectifies trans people, and then we don’t get to really deal with the real lived experiences.

“The reality of trans people’s lives is that so often we are targets of violence. We experience discrimination disproportionately to the rest of the community.

“Our unemployment rate is twice the national average; if you are a trans person of color, that rate is four times the national average. The homicide rate is highest among trans women.

“If we focus on transition, we don’t actually get to talk about those things.”

Janet Mock

Trans journalist Janet Mock has more form than anyone in shutting down stupid questions – ripping into Piers Morgan when he described her as a “former man” during coverage of their interview.

Ripping into Morgan, she said: “‘Was a boy until 18.’ @PiersMorganLive get it the f*k together.

“I was not “formerly a man.” Pls stop sensationalizing my life and misgendering trans women. #redefiningrealness”

She later turned the tables on a separate interviewer – incessantly quizzing her about her genitalia.

Barraging the female interviewer, she said: “Do you have a vagina? When was the moment you felt your breasts budding? Do you use tampons?

“When you were going through puberty, did you feel trapped by the changes your body was going through? Did you feel like a girl?”

Matt Bomer

The Magic Mike star took exception to an interviewer who asked him whether “audiences of gay men were harder to please than women”.

He hit back: “Why would I ever try to boil down an entire community into a yes-or-no question?

“Would you feel comfortable if I said ‘Are women harder or easier to please’? One of the things you learn from this movie is that everybody’s different.

“It’s all about communication between individuals. Let’s get rid of the labels, get rid of the shame, and take these stigmas off sex and make it a dialogue about these two individuals.”

Adam Lambert
Out singer and occasional Queen frontman Adam Lambert was taking no prisoners when an Australian radio host suggested he should date Ricky Martin.

He hit back: “Don’t do that! You’re not allowed to do that. That’s so silly – a gay guy and another gay guy, oh you must date… come on!

The host tried to recover from the backlash, saying: “You’re both in the industry, you both understand each other’s schedule, you’re both hot… it would work.”

Chris Bryant

Okay, he’s not an icon, but Labour MP Chris Bryant is one of the most senior LGB people in British politics.

He was subjected to a painful interview back in 2010, bickering about the phone hacking scandal with Kay Burley on Sky News.

The politician branded Burley a “bit dim” over her surreal line of questioning – before shutting down her attempts to tar him as reckless for having his phone hacked.

Cara Delevingne
Out supermodel-turned-actress Cara Delevingne was not amused last week when asked whether she’d bothered to read the book her new film is based on.

The hosts failed to appreciate her sarcastic reply – and things only got worse as the interviewers questioned why she seemed so cold and irritable. “No, it’s just you.”

• Dec 31 2024

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