Prepare for a rollercoaster of raw emotions and shocking revelations! We're diving into the most brutally honest celebrity interviews that left audiences stunned, from personal struggles to explosive confessions that changed everything.
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00:00And it's apples and oranges.
00:01Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:05for interviews where celebrities revealed personal information
00:08and or showed raw emotion, even if their answers
00:11weren't always truthful.
00:12I let down my friends.
00:16I let down the country.
00:23Number 20.
00:23Ariana Grande with Sally.
00:25Grande is one of countless celebrities who can barely take
00:28a breath without someone commenting on her body.
00:31A specimen in a petri dish, really, since I was 16 or 17, you know?
00:36So I have heard it all.
00:38I've heard every version of it, of what's wrong with me.
00:40And then you fix it, and then it's wrong for different reasons.
00:44Imagine how exhausting it must be to hear the same tired narrative,
00:48especially when all you want to discuss are your proudest achievements.
00:51During the wicked press circuit, Grande got emotional when asked
00:54how she handles such relentless scrutiny.
00:56From what you're wearing, to your body, to your face, to your everything,
01:00there's a comfortability that people have commenting on that,
01:04that I think is really dangerous.
01:07While it's not the first time she's addressed the topic,
01:10it's clear this issue has weighed heavily on her,
01:12and she uses the opportunity to express her feelings.
01:15You can see how deeply she feels about it.
01:18Grande seems hopeful this might mark the end of that wider conversation.
01:22One can only hope.
01:23And however you all can protect yourselves from that noise,
01:26whether it's at a family reunion or online,
01:30or if you've got to block people, I don't care.
01:32If you have to delete the app entirely, you keep yourself safe.
01:39Bennifer had been married for 10 years,
01:41and one day, they announced to the world that it was over.
01:45Naturally, the rumor mill quickly churned out whispers of infidelity,
01:49particularly involving Ben Affleck and the family's nanny.
01:52We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny.
01:55She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce.
01:58In an interview with Vanity Fair,
02:00the actress addressed her divorce,
02:02clearing up rumors and reflecting on the toll it took on her young family.
02:06She shares how the media's obsession with her personal life
02:09forced her to step back and block out the noise.
02:11I don't look at it.
02:12I had to really get serious with myself and say,
02:17this is not healthy.
02:18She still had plenty of praise for Affleck,
02:20though her pain is very clear.
02:23She also seems to borrow from the talented Mr. Ripley
02:25to describe her relationship with her ex.
02:44It's no surprise that being a woman in the workforce,
02:47especially in Hollywood, comes with plenty of challenges.
02:50In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter,
02:52the Grey's Anatomy star shared how she learned
02:54to recognize her worth and fight for it.
02:57Last month you made a huge stir with this interview,
03:00how I became TV's $20 million woman.
03:03She opens up about the double standards in the industry,
03:05and how having a major Hollywood actor as a co-star
03:08often made her feel boxed in.
03:10When Patrick Dempsey left the show,
03:12she decided it was time to remind everyone whose name is in the title.
03:15You had him and you lost him.
03:19You've got to take responsibility for your actions
03:21once in your life.
03:22As Pompeo notes,
03:24women in Hollywood are often treated like they have a sell-by date,
03:27so why not demand your worth?
03:29That is how you become one of TV's highest-paid actresses.
03:33And I wanted to sort of do a truthful interview
03:36and talk about my road to my own empowerment
03:40and how I got there,
03:41but also mistakes that I've made along the way.
03:47Dunham has never shied away from being transparent
03:49about her personal life.
03:50Before her interview with The Cut,
03:52Dunham had undergone surgery on her ovary.
03:54I'd like to thank my ovaries.
03:56You know I love you ovaries,
03:57even though you've acted like pretty d***y and weird
03:59for the last 15 years.
04:00From the way things are described,
04:02she gave her interviewers such a vivid account
04:04that it was almost like they'd had a front-row seat to the procedure.
04:07By the time they met,
04:08they were already well-acquainted with Dunham's organs.
04:11She speaks candidly about her battle with endometriosis,
04:15the drastic steps she took to manage the pain,
04:17and how she felt validated by her doctor after the surgery.
04:20I'd also like to thank my doctor, Randy Harris,
04:23in Los Angeles for diagnosing me,
04:24but moreover for believing me.
04:27It changed my entire life to be heard.
04:29Dunham also addresses the gossip about her misfortune with pets
04:33and reflects on the past statements for which she's had to apologize.
04:36I naively believed it was important to share my perspective
04:39on my friend's situation.
04:41We regret this decision with every fiber of our being.
04:47Quote,
04:48"'I know too much, man,' Quincy Jones told his interviewer,
04:51and after decades in the business,
04:53he's certainly likely to have seen and heard it all."
04:56When it came to Michael Jackson,
04:57who Quincy worked very closely with,
05:01he claimed Michael stole music from several artists,
05:04including Donna Summer.
05:06Quincy also said that he believes that the Beatles were,
05:09quote,
05:10the worst musicians in the world.
05:12In this candid interview,
05:13Jones spills on Michael Jackson's alleged plagiarism,
05:16his unfiltered thoughts on the Beatles,
05:18his ties to former presidents,
05:20and even his take on who shot Kennedy.
05:22He knows who killed JFK.
05:26Jones says it was Chicago mobster Sam Giancana.
05:29The connection was there between Sinatra and the mafia and Kennedy,
05:33adding,
05:34we shouldn't talk about this publicly.
05:40Too late.
05:42He also claims to have dated Ivanka Trump,
05:45and he doesn't hold back when it comes to her father.
05:47Jones even brings up Marlon Brando's rumored romantic history and sexuality,
05:52though Brando's son has since denied at least part of those claims.
05:55Ironically,
05:56the person we seem to learn the least about in this whirlwind of revelations
06:00is Jones himself.
06:11While promoting his memoir,
06:12Matthew Perry gave this deeply honest interview about substance use disorder
06:16and how it consumed his life.
06:18However deep it went for me,
06:21and dark it went for me,
06:24that will help somebody who got that dark.
06:27And I kept going.
06:28Diane Sawyer picked out some of the book's most painful moments,
06:31and Perry addresses each one with remarkable candor.
06:34He opens up about the cost of fame,
06:36the grip of addiction,
06:38and how it nearly ended his life.
06:40My family rushed to the hospital
06:42and were told that I have a 2% chance to make it through the night.
06:46And, you know, my mom heard that,
06:49and my dad heard that.
06:51It's clear how important it is for him to share his story,
06:54hoping to inspire others facing similar struggles to find hope.
06:57Listening to him speak so openly,
06:59willingly revisiting his pain to help others,
07:02is moving and admirable.
07:04This interview feels even more devastating now,
07:06knowing the challenges he faced and how his story ends.
07:10Your disease is just outside,
07:11just doing one-arm push-ups,
07:13just waiting, just waiting for you,
07:15waiting to get you alone.
07:16Because alone, you lose.
07:22After endless speculation about her health and relationships,
07:25Whitney Houston sat down with Diane Sawyer to set the record straight.
07:29I can't believe what you feel.
07:32I can't believe that.
07:33But do you really know?
07:35Do you really know?
07:37No, you know.
07:39She speaks openly about her struggles with substance use disorder,
07:42though she frames it as a, quote,
07:44bad habit.
07:45She also reflects on how it impacted her life
07:48and credits her faith for giving her the strength to persevere.
07:51I like to think of I had a bad habit,
07:58which can be broken.
07:59Sawyer's questions are relentless,
08:01leaving little room for Houston to deflect,
08:04yet she tackles them head-on.
08:06Houston addresses everything,
08:07her addiction,
08:08body image,
08:09legal disputes with her father,
08:11and even her relationship with then-husband Bobby Brown.
08:14She also touches on behaviors the public had labeled,
08:17quote,
08:18erratic.
08:19She makes it very clear that she won't let tough questions
08:22diminish her resilience.
08:24People are different in the industry.
08:26It's about the money.
08:27It's about get it fast.
08:29You think you're not tough enough for this business?
08:31Oh, I'm tough enough.
08:32Number 13.
08:33Robert Blake with Piers Morgan.
08:35Piers Morgan has a habit of provoking strong reactions,
08:38and actor Robert Blake is no exception.
08:41While discussing his memoir,
08:42Morgan makes a remark Blake interprets as questioning the truth of his life story.
08:46Because if you don't know I'm telling you the truth,
08:48then you must have a little scratch in the back of your head about where I'm lying.
08:52Tell me where I'm lying.
08:53I'm not saying you're lying.
08:54But you say you don't know if I'm telling the truth.
08:56What the hell is the difference?
08:57Tensions escalate further when Morgan brings up Blake's late wife,
09:01for whose murder he had been acquitted.
09:03Now you want me to talk about Bonnie.
09:05Bonnie's not in the book.
09:07I chose to allow you to go there,
09:09and you should deeply, deeply respect that.
09:13The actor becomes so enraged that his televised responses
09:16seem to feature more beliefs than actual words.
09:19The heated exchange, however, prompts Blake to overshare
09:22far beyond what he likely intended when agreeing to the interview.
09:25By the end, it felt like we had not only read his memoir,
09:29but also all the parts that didn't make it into print.
09:46This marked the first time the Cuban leader had talked to an American journalist.
09:50Walters called him,
09:54but that didn't stop her from asking hard-hitting questions.
09:57She presses him on his politics and leadership,
10:00and even tries to get some personal tidbits.
10:10Walters is relentless.
10:12She has a job to do, and no one,
10:14not even someone seen by some as a dictator, would get an easy pass.
10:28You cannot insult socialism.
10:30You cannot take apart our system.
10:32He holds his ground, staying true to his beliefs,
10:35as he famously did throughout his career.
10:37This is especially evident when asked about freedom of the press and democracy.
10:41He later called this interview one of the toughest he had ever faced.
10:53Conversations about, quote,
10:55how dark their baby's skin tone would be.
11:07A rift between Prince Harry and his father so deep
11:09that Harry said his father at one point, quote,
11:12stopped taking my calls.
11:14And Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,
11:16opening up about how much the stress of it all had taken a toll on her mental health.
11:25These were some of the shocking details described by Harry and Meghan
11:28in an exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey,
11:31the first they had given since they stepped away
11:33from official royal duties the previous year.
11:35They said they would have stayed had they gotten support from the royal family.
11:43So, we did what we had to do.
11:46Buckingham Palace reported that, quote,
11:48Harry and Meghan were not happy with the way they were treated.
11:51So, we did what we had to do.
11:54Buckingham Palace responded to the interview by releasing a statement.
12:02When Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley got married in 1994,
12:05people were skeptical of the relationship.
12:07What do I love the most about him?
12:09Everything.
12:10He's amazing.
12:11I really admire him.
12:12I respect him.
12:13I admire him.
12:13I'm in love with him.
12:15And no, we don't sleep in separate bedrooms.
12:17Thank you very much.
12:18Presley had divorced Danny Keough 20 days before,
12:21and the public accusations of misconduct against Jackson
12:24had already been surfacing for a few months.
12:27Diane Sawyer began by asking typical relationship questions
12:30on ABC News' Primetime Live in 1995,
12:33but she quickly put the couple on the defensive,
12:35asking about their decision to marry and the allegations.
12:38I just want people to know what they're dealing with before
12:40and understand that I'm not the, you know, that we are not.
12:44The jokes, the degrading comments, all that kind of stuff,
12:46it's really irritating.
12:48It's hard for an interview not to get awkward with these subjects,
12:51but Michael maintained his innocence,
12:53and Lisa Marie stood by her man.
12:55I could never harm a child or anyone.
12:58It's not in my heart.
12:59It's not who I am.
13:01And it's not what I meant.
13:02I'm not even interested in that.
13:04Diane has been criticized for trying too hard to get a scoop,
13:07much like Martin Bashir later was for his 2003 TV documentary with Michael.
13:12When people hear that children from other families have come
13:17and they've stayed in your house, they've stayed in your bedroom...
13:21Well, very few.
13:22But, you know, some have.
13:25And they say, is that really appropriate for a man?
13:31It's no secret that Tom Cruise is a devout Scientologist,
13:35and he's not afraid to defend his beliefs.
13:37During this 2005 Today interview with Matt Lauer,
13:40the topic of antidepressants comes up and things get heated.
13:44Because clearly you've done the homework and you know the subject.
13:46And you should.
13:47And you should do that also,
13:49because just knowing people who are on Ritalin isn't enough.
13:52You should be a little bit more responsible in knowing...
13:54I'm not prescribing Ritalin, Tom.
13:56Tom is not shy about criticizing prescription medication or modern psychiatry,
14:00and Lauer took the star to task for his judgment of Brooke Shields
14:03for using medication to deal with postpartum depression.
14:06I want to see her do well.
14:08And I know that psychiatry is a pseudoscience.
14:15Lauer tries to defend the other side of the argument,
14:17but Tom refuses to concede,
14:19boasting about his superior knowledge of the subject.
14:22It's pretty awkward to watch,
14:24but there's always something to be learned from bad interviews.
14:27And in this case, the world definitely learned more about Tom Cruise.
14:31You're glib.
14:32You don't even know what Ritalin is.
14:33If you start talking about chemical imbalance,
14:35you have to evaluate and read the research papers
14:38on how they came up with these theories, Matt.
14:40Okay?
14:41That's what I've done.
14:48Where to even start with this infamous 2011 interview?
14:51It's been quoted in every medium imaginable,
14:53from internet memes to psychology magazines.
14:56After Sheen's contract for Two and a Half Men was terminated,
14:59Sheen's career took a nosedive,
15:01as documented by the series of bizarre interviews he gave around that time.
15:05But this was the one to beat.
15:14Speaking with ABC's Canning,
15:16he speaks frankly about serious issues like drugs and the show,
15:19but also injects them with memorable outbursts,
15:22like his comment about having tiger blood.
15:30Sheen has since attributed these outbursts to roid rage,
15:33and he refers to his interviews as cringe-able.
15:36Cringe-inducing or not,
15:38they were definitely eye-opening.
15:46This 2003 interview happened at a very vulnerable time
15:49in Britney Spears' personal life.
15:50She was only in her early 20s,
15:52and her breakup with Justin Timberlake was still very raw.
16:04Weird.
16:05I was like, why is he going on these shows,
16:07and they're asking him, and he's talking, you know,
16:09but I'm sure, like, you know, just like right now.
16:11Despite all this,
16:12she doesn't back down from any questions asked.
16:15She defends her choice to show skin in magazines,
16:17she denies any drug use,
16:18and she openly breaks down when talking about Timberlake.
16:22Um, yeah, it was a weird time.
16:28Ew.
16:31Sawyer even inquired about Britney's sex life,
16:33asking if she still believed in staying a virgin until marriage.
16:36I think in reality,
16:38if you really know in your hearts of heart
16:40that you are gonna be with that person forever,
16:42and you really think that with all of your heart,
16:45and you're in four or five years into the relationship,
16:48I mean, stuff can happen.
16:49Britney was no stranger to interviews or public scrutiny by this point.
16:53But for better or worse,
16:54she answered even the toughest and most personal questions
16:57with apparent honesty.
17:02It cannot be stressed enough that the public loved Diana.
17:05She truly was the people's princess.
17:23Everyone wanted to know more about her life,
17:25especially about her divorce from Charles.
17:27And in that regard,
17:28this 1995 BBC Panorama interview definitely delivered.
17:32Diana was extremely candid and opened up about her disordered eating,
17:36depression, infidelity in her marriage,
17:39and what it was like living as a royal.
17:51Diana also seems very vulnerable,
17:53her voice full of sadness as she says to Martin Bashir,
17:56quote,
17:56There were three of us in this marriage.
18:0722.8 million people tuned in to watch.
18:10She spoke her truth and the world listened.
18:17Oprah does not like to be deceived.
18:19In fact, she downright hates it.
18:21She was swept up in Lance Armstrong's story just like everyone else.
18:25And when it was revealed in the early 2010s
18:27that he was using performance-enhancing drugs,
18:29she too felt duped and cheated.
18:42The iconic television personality made it a point to confront him personally,
18:46and she doesn't try to hide her disappointment
18:48in this interview that aired in 2013.
18:51Oprah didn't accept lies or excuses.
18:53She wanted the truth, and that's what she got.
19:00In the interview, Lance admits he lived a lie,
19:03and he finally confesses to doping.
19:05It's really hard to lie to Oprah,
19:07which is why she's mastered the art of the confessional interview.
19:24In a weird way, I almost justified because of my history, obviously,
19:29with having testicular cancer and losing.
19:31But surely, I'm running low.
19:38What started out as an interview with a husband and wife
19:40ended in shocking revelations and ultimately divorce.
19:43I think for the first time I can understand abused women,
19:46because what happens is, or people, you know, you say,
19:48why do you stay in there?
19:50Well, number one, you love the person,
19:52and number two, you get accustomed to being treated poorly.
19:56Originally, the 1988 interview was about Tyson,
19:59but Givens joined, and she had a lot to say.
20:02Instead of talking about marital bliss,
20:04Givens gives a bleak account to Barbara Walters
20:07of their eight-month marriage, accusing Tyson of being abusive.
20:10Let me say this.
20:11I mean, there are times when Michael is manic,
20:14and he's incredibly abusive.
20:15Givens doesn't hide the fact that she's unhappy
20:17and even scared of her husband.
20:19He's got a side to him that's scary.
20:22Tyson is clearly shocked and sits in silence for most of the talk.
20:26Though Givens said they were working on his issues,
20:28she filed for divorce just one week after the interview
20:32and cited irreconcilable differences.
20:34Number three, Caitlyn Jenner with Diane Sawyer.
20:38Are you a heterosexual who...
20:44You're going back to the sex thing,
20:45and it's apples and oranges.
20:47This was the moment Caitlyn Jenner finally decided
20:50to announce to the world that she was transgender.
20:52In this emotional and groundbreaking 2015 interview,
20:55Jenner talks about what it was like being perceived
20:57as a macho male Olympian,
20:59while a feminine voice inside screamed to be heard.
21:02How isolating it was to be a celebrity
21:05and not wanting to disappoint her fans.
21:14In a lot of ways,
21:15this is the moment she said goodbye to who she had been
21:18and took the damn ponytail out.
21:21Jenner and Sawyer would have yet another
21:23eye-opening interview together two years later.
21:25Number two, Monica Lewinsky with Barbara Walters.
21:29She's the intern that almost brought down a presidency.
21:32A month after Bill Clinton was acquitted
21:34for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky,
21:36Lewinsky decided to tell her side of the story.
21:5470 million people ate up the Barbara Walters interview,
21:57and Lewinsky did not disappoint.
21:59Speaking out about her relationship with Clinton,
22:01how she felt about him,
22:03and everything in between.
22:13It turns out that she didn't just have sexual relations
22:16with that man,
22:17she was also in love with him.
22:26The 1999 interview was also a launching point
22:29for Lewinsky's pop culture stardom
22:30and various endeavors in fashion and television,
22:33among other ventures.
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22:49The Watergate scandal shook the very foundations of America,
22:53and the man at the heart of it wasn't saying too much.
22:55It wasn't until 1977,
22:57three years after he resigned as president,
22:59that Richard Nixon finally opened up
23:01in a series of interviews with David Frost.
23:20Here, he admitted more than he ever had before,
23:24with 45 million people watching.
23:26Frost was specifically chosen
23:28because Nixon's team thought he was a pushover,
23:30but they were sorely mistaken.
23:32Frost asked what the American people wanted to know,
23:35and by the end,
23:36he had Nixon apologizing
23:37and admitting to failing the country.
23:39I let down my friends.
23:43I let down...
23:47the country.
23:48Which celebrity interview hit you the hardest?
23:51Let us know in the comments.
23:52Do you really know?
23:54Do you really know?
23:56Do you agree with our picks?
23:57Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
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