Hugh Grant Shuts Down Oscar Red Carpet With Awkward Interview

UPDATED:. Hugh Grant’s return to the Oscars proved very memorable before he even took the stage to present. He joined ABC pre-show’s Ashley Graham for a train wreck red carpet interview, which set social media on fire.

Graham started off by referring to the Love Actually and Notting Hill star as “veteran of the Oscars” before asking him what his favorite thing was about attending the Academy Awards.

“Well…It’s fascinating, the whole of humanity is here,” Grant replied. “It’s vanity fair.”

Graham agreed and proceeded to ask who he was most excited to see tonight in a couple of different ways. Grant finally answered. “No one in particular.”

Things got from bad to worse when Graham asked the standard “What are you wearing” red carpet question. “Just my suit.” Graham tried to extract a bit more by noting that Grant likely didn’t make the garment, to which he responded “I can’t remember, my tailor.”

In Graham’s third and final attempt to get something out of the British star, she brought up Glass Onion – A Knives Out Mystery.

“It was such an amazing film, I really loved it. I love a thriller. How fun is it to shoot something like that?” Graham asked.

Said Grant, “Well, I’m barely in it. I mean, I’m in for about three seconds.”

But still, he showed up and had fun, right? “Almost,” Grant shut that too.

At this point, Graham did her best to wrap the segment gracefully. “Yeah but still, you showed up and you had fun right? Okay, thank you so much, it was nice to talk to you. Back to you guys,” she said while Grant was seen doing what appeared to be an eye roll.

Twitter exploded immediately with reactions with comments about Grant’s hostile attitude, and many commiserated with Graham for having to go through the painful exchange.

“Ashley Graham interviewing Hugh Grant is the most awkward piece of television in 2023 and I’m living for it,” Joey O’Hern wrote on Twitter, summing up many viewers’ take on the encounter.

Above is a video of the interview, which lasted just over a minute but sure felt like an eternity.

UPDATE: Following Grant’s cringeworthy performance on the red carpet (which was champaign in color this year), he put on his signature charm when he reunited with his Four Weddings and a Funeral co-star Andie MacDowell on stage to present an award.

“We are actually here to do two things, the first, to raise awareness about the vital importance of using a good moisturizer. Andie has been wearing one every day for the last 29 years, I’ve never used one in my life,” Grant said, before self-deprecatingly pointing to MacDowell and then himself, “Still stunning, basically a scrotum.” You can watch video of Grant and MacDowell’s exchange below.