Earlier this week, the Inquisitr reported that actor Robert Downey Jr. walked out of an interview with Channel 4 News journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who tried to get answers about Downey’s past involvement with drugs and alcohol. The video of Downey walking out went viral, eliciting responses from fans saying it was inappropriate for the journalist to ask personal questions about the actor’s past during a junket for The Avengers: Age of Ultron .
As seen in the video, Robert Downey Jr. commented that the interview was “getting a little Diane Sawyer in here.” Appropriately enough, a few days after that awkward experience took place, Downey ran into Sawyer backstage on the set of Live with Kelly and Michael . The two took a picture together, and Downey posted it on his Instagram page , saying it was “a corrective experience with legitimate journalism.”
According to Entertainment Weekly , Downey was scheduled to appear on Live with Kelly and Michael to discuss The Avengers: Age of Ultron when the encounter with Sawyer happened. Sawyer was also to appear on the show to talk about her interview with Bruce Jenner, which will air tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC.
While Robert Downey Jr. has been applauded for walking out of the awkward interview, there are some who disagree with his actions. One of those is Peggy Drexler, who penned an opinion piece for CNN . Drexler wrote that Downey had “the right to refuse” the question posed to him by Murthy, but what he actually did was unnecessary.
“Instead, he throws the celebrity interview equivalent of a tantrum: He smiles arrogantly, says ‘bye!’ and stands up to leave. He sure showed him!”
Robert Downey Jr. has opened up about his past before, but it clearly wasn’t what he wanted to do during the interview with Channel 4 News . Drexler noted that it was OK for Downey to not answer questions he didn’t want to answer, but he shouldn’t have done it in such a way that was “disrespectful” to the journalist.
“Downey might not have been ‘in the mood’ to be questioned… and those days, those moods, are understandable. We all have them. And yet in this case, that’s, well, too bad. The actor has agreed to an interview as part of his job. He has agreed to engage in a conversation with another professional human being. Given the terms, he is not entitled to call all the shots.”
What do you think of Robert Downey Jr.’s response to Murthy?
[Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images]
