Politics

Anchors Need Etiquette Lessons: British Humour Gone Awry

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Good Morning Sacramento interviewed model and actress Cara Delevingne for her new film Paper Towns — based on the John Green novel — on Tuesday, July 22nd. For anyone who has seen the travesty of an interview, you know exactly what I am talking about. For those of you who have not, it was a particularly painful 4 minutes.

The anchors introduced Cara as “Carla,” a mistake that set the tone for the interview to follow. While Cara Delevingne did appear moderately more deadpan than the usual chirpy celebrity, she did attempt to insert some humor through sarcasm–perhaps not the best idea for the show in consideration. However, the anchors’ reactions to her and her appearance were, in a word, appalling.

A male reporter calls out Delevingne for her lack of excitement and frankly asks her “Are you just exhausted?” Delevingne’s responses were adequately polite, however, the anchors cutting her off and advising her to “take a little nap” or “get a Redbull” was both condescending and just plain rude. The anchors then make the whole situation worse by saying things like “she was in a mood” and using words like “irritated”.

Upon further investigation, it appears Delevingne is equally serious in other interviews and this interview does not seem indicative of her being upset or “in a mood.” Rather, it is merely hinted that perhaps she is more serious in interviews. While I do concur that Cara Delevingne could have attempted to be a bit more enthusiastic, she did answer every question fully and rose above the anchors’ condescending tone. I strongly believe that the behavior of the anchors was indicative of a larger problem in the media whereby bullying and judging celebrities is the norm. Celebrities are also people and it is possible to misjudge the kind of humor required in a situation, or not be able to show what the anchors deem adequate enthusiasm all of the time.

Oftentimes, the media appears to behave as if being paid to act requires the individual to be a constant mannequin to be questioned, judged, and prodded all of the time, regardless of the topic at hand. The anchors, in this situation, should have attempted to make her more comfortable instead of lambasting her on-air, cutting her interview short, and proceeding to make uncalled-for remarks about her.

Cara Delevingne herself replied to the interview aftermath with a tweet:

As a final note, Glamour Magazine’s Rebecca Cox, in her article on the debacle, perfectly encapsulated why Cara Delevingne is a far better interviewee than the trained and glossy ones we often see on television. “Her personality is what makes Cara interesting, and I’d rather sit opposite a tired and sarcastic Miss Delevingne and risk actually finding something out about her than wait two hours to reel off a scripted film Q&A with any number of big names.” Rebecca Cox also rightfully points out that Cara Delevingne is not the easiest person to interview, but emphasizes that “if easy is all you want as an interviewer, refuse to speak to anyone but Tom Cruise or the ranks of pros who have a list of acceptable media comebacks tattooed on the inside of their eyelids.”

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