Robert Downey, Jr. Walks Out of Interview, Offended by Prying Questions
While the first few minutes of the Wednesday interview meant to promote the new Avengers: Age of Ultron film went smoothly, the walkout occurred once Guru-Murthy asked deeper questions about Downey’s troubled past.
Downey became increasingly uncomfortable after Guru-Murthy asked him about a quote he gave to The New York Times years ago that read, “You can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite in La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal.”
“Things that you said five or 10 years ago, or things you said in an interview that made sense at the time–I could pick that apart for two hours and be no closer to the truth and I’d be giving you some half-assed answer right now,” he responded.
“I couldn’t even tell you what a liberal is,” he said.
Understanding that the prying question marked a turn in the interview, Downey became clearly uneasy. He asked, “Are we promoting a movie?”
Guru-Murthy also became anxious, against which Downey warned, “You’re foot’s starting to jump a little bit, you better get to your next question.”
The 50-year-old actor stopped the interview after being asked about the “dark periods” of his youth and his relationship with his father.
“What are we doing?” Downy replied mid-question, visibly annoyed yet controlled. He waved his hand to his interviewer and muttered an abrupt “bye” before walking off the set.
The Daily Beast reports that the interviewer is building a reputation for “ruffling the feathers” of celebrities. Director Quentin Tarantino walked out on Guru-Murthy in 2013 and actor Richard Ayoade, although completing a frightfully uncomfortable interview with him, said, “Don’t thank me. I’ve done nothing for you.”
