Talk show host David Letterman has come under fire after an interview clip of Lindsay Lohan from 2013 has gone viral on Twitter.
Letterman is seen asking Lohan about her stints in rehab and her addictions, which many on social media have called out as ‘misogynistic’, ‘intrusive’ and plain ‘rude’.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in rehab?,” Letterman questions Lohan, who appeared on ‘The Late Show…’ to promote one of her upcoming films.
When she informs him of the date she has to check into the facility, Letterman continues the line of questioning, asking: “What are they rehab-ing? What is on their list? What are they going to work on when you walk through the door?”
Lindsay then says: “I think to be honest I’m the happiest when I’m working and the healthiest and I think this is an opportunity for me to you know focus on what I love in life and I don’t think it’s a bad thing I think it’s a blessing.”
As the in-studio audience continues to laugh at Lohan’s obvious discomfort, the ‘Freaky Friday’ actress informs everyone that this line of questioning was not brought up in the pre-interview.
As she continues to answer his questions about her rehab, Lohan finally grabs at Letterman’s sheet of questions and reads them out herself – whether she’s going for alcohol use, if she has money to pay for her rehab and so on.
“You can’t make a joke of it, that’s so mean. You can’t do that, it’s my show now,” Lohan implores, even as the audience continues to laugh.
This Lindsay Lohan interview on David Letterman in 2013 is horrifying to watch now. pic.twitter.com/lZxKVvbVB0
— 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 (@treytylor) February 13, 2021
The clip was shared by Twitter user Trey Taylor and has already generated more than 17,400 retweets and 117,000 likes in 24 hours, with many responding with rage towards Letterman’s line of questioning.
“This is vile on so many levels. The misogyny. The blindsiding. The stigma of addiction & rehab. The hypocrisy of wanting people to recover, but then judging how they choose do so. I hope Lindsay Lohan knows how loved she is. The world has treated her and many others so unfairly,” tweeted Frank Costa in response to the clip.
A Lohan fan handle responded: “Lindsay Lohan is alive and well. That’s the best revenge she could give to all the naysayers who aimed for her to die by an overdose or went on a worst road she was in. Proved them all wrong. She’s finally free from the toxic/abusive misogynistic Hollywood world. A true survivor.”
Twitter user Tanaya Leigh wrote: “I think she was super strong and stood her ground in such an elegant way. It’s one thing for people you know to criticize the moments that test your strength, and to have to do that in front of an audience and millions at home? So much respect to her.”
Lohan, who has been living in Dubai for the past years, announced in 2019 that she planning her Hollywood comeback, along with releasing some new music.
As fans demand that Letterman apologise to Lohan, the actress’ interview has received further traction in light of the ‘Framing Britney Spears’ documentary that has drawn support from many celebrities who have called out the misogyny the young singer faced in the spotlight and her during her very public break-up with Justin Timberlake.
Timberlake himself has issued an apology to Spears and singer Janet Jackson over his past actions, which included exposing the latter singer during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004 that resulted in her being uninvited from the Grammy Awards that year, while he was able to attend.
