This episode’s vocabulary
Appealing
adjective — attractive or interesting. → I don't usually watch talk shows because I don't find them very appealing.
Pop diva
noun — a famous and successful female pop singer, often with a commanding presence. → Madonna is a famous pop diva and has been for the last forty years.
Devolve into
phrasal verb — to change from one state to another, usually a worse one. → The discussion was supposed to be about her career, but it devolved into a bit of a mess.
Gate-crash
verb — to go to a party or private event without an invitation. → Another singer started throwing paper at her and then gate-crashed the whole thing.
Flabbergasted
adjective — feeling shocked or astonished. → Initially, Madonna looked a bit flabbergasted by the interruption.
Demeanor
noun — a person's outward behavior or bearing. → Despite the chaos, she returned to her cool demeanor soon enough.
Cope with
phrasal verb — to deal effectively with something difficult. → She tried her best to cope with how the interview went.
Train wreck
idiom — a complete disaster or failure. → The interview was a total train wreck as far as any journalism was concerned.
Scroll through
phrasal verb — to move up or down through text or images on a screen. → I was just scrolling through my Instagram feed one evening when I saw it.
Pop up
phrasal verb — to appear suddenly or unexpectedly. → The video popped up completely unexpectedly on my feed.
Crop up
phrasal verb — to appear or happen, especially unexpectedly. → The video still crops up every now and then in my recommendations.
Stage-managed
adjective — planned and controlled carefully to create a particular effect, rather than being spontaneous. → Modern interviews often feel very controlled and almost stage-managed.
Interviewer
noun — a person who asks questions during an interview. → Oprah Winfrey is one of the most famous interviewers in the world.
Interviewee
noun — a person who answers questions during an interview. → The interviewee seemed nervous at the beginning of the show.
Questions and answers
Describe a time you watched a famous person being interviewed. You should say who the famous person was, what the interview was about, when and where you watched this interview, and explain how you felt about the interview. So, give us your story, Rory's story.
To be honest, I don't usually watch things like this because I don't find them very appealing. So, the closest thing would probably be the reel I saw on Instagram the other day of a historical interview, nothing modern. This was from the 1990s, I think. When it comes to who the famous person was, it was Madonna, who's a famous pop diva and has been for the last forty years at least. She was being interviewed by a TV journalist from MTV, I think. I wasn't really paying attention to that. It was more about the drama around the whole thing that caught my attention. In terms of what the interview was about, I think it was supposed to be about her career and how things were going with her latest hits and album releases. But it sort of devolved into a bit of a mess when another singer, Courtney Love, started throwing paper at her and then gate-crashed the whole thing. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. The reporter just allowed it to happen, and initially, Madonna looked a bit flabbergasted, but she returned to her cool demeanor soon enough and tried her best to cope with how it went, even though it was a total train wreck as far as any journalism was concerned. When it comes to when and where I watched it, it wasn't the live version. That was about thirty years ago now, possibly even further back than that. I was just scrolling through my Instagram feed one evening the other week and it popped up completely unexpectedly. And it still crops up every now and then, probably because the algorithm has seen that I've watched the whole thing and knows it's something I'm interested in seeing again. As far as how I felt about the interview itself, I mean, even though I shouldn't have enjoyed it, I thought it was extremely funny to see something like that, especially in contrast with how things were back then, and the more controlled and almost stage-managed interviews we have these days for most celebrities and politicians. It was very entertaining to watch, but I doubt I'll see anything like that anytime soon.