While it pales into comparison to the controversy of last year's Oscars, this year Hugh Grant has annoyed people by being himself on the red carpet. In a clip that has now gone viral, he begrudgingly answered the questions of Ashley Graham (who was reporting live from the carpet) with the energy of a distracted dad hoping to sneak out of parent's evening without speaking to any of the teachers. But considering how repetitive red carpet questioning at these star-studded events can be, can we really blame him?
As the internet enters another tussle over whether someone was or wasn't [insert accusation] – it's not impossible to see where Hugh was coming from. He's 62 and he's been acting for 30 years – he's tired, we're tired, are you not tired? Of course, lots of people sympathise with Ashely too since she was only doing her job by asking these questions – e.g. where his suit was from, whether he enjoyed his stint in Glass Onion and who he's most excited to see at the ceremony – but a lot of these interviews follow a familiar template that must get slightly tiresome for everyone involved.
To be honest, what we probably witnessed was simply a culture clash: a nonplussed, not-that-bothered Brit contrasting with some all-American enthusiasm. And then there were some unfortunate crossed wires. When Ashley asks Oxford-educated Hugh what he thinks of the Oscars, true to form, he says it's a bit like Vanity Fair, referencing William Makepeace Thackery's novel about 'man's sinful attachment to worldly things'. But Ashley naturally and mistakenly thinks he's referring to the Vanity Fair (the magazine) and its famous Oscars after party.
As Ashley valiantly battled on, the interview only got more awkward: several people spotted that it was obvious Ashley hadn't seen Glass Onion when she asked Hugh about it, and he responded saying, 'I'm barely in it, I was only in it for about three seconds'. While other actors may have played along and feigned enthusiasm - Hugh was simply honest.
Whichever way you look at it, Ashley tried her best and Hugh was himself - after all, what we love about Hugh is his unapologetic cynicism (a very British trait) - but it was undoubtedly an awkward exchange. Perhaps next time Hugh should just smile and wave.