Diaz, Drugs and Dealing with Unexpected Questions

• Crisis
• July 23, 2014
• by Merrie Spaeth

People really do identify with celebrities. I got a call from a reader of the BIMBO memo, who asked if I had seen the news about Cameron Diaz. No, I hadn’t. My caller felt terrible for Diaz who was doing a radio interview with an Australian station when one of the hosts asked her about her best friend Drew Barrymore’s drug use. Diaz got huffy and defensive and snapped back at the host and cut the interview off. My caller asked what Diaz should have done, and said she would have reacted similarly.

What do you do when you get a totally unexpected question? The trick isn’t to anticipate every question, it’s to know how to cover when you’re not prepared.

The simplest technique is – catch this – the truth. “I would like to think about that, what’s your next question?”

The idea is to get to the next topic as quickly as possible. Remember Senator (then presidential candidate) John McCain, who was asked why he supported legislation that provided Viagra but not contraception. He said, “I did?” incredulously, and the reporter said, “Yes, many times,” He said, “Really? When?” Just the wrong way to handle the topic because it kept alive his ineptness.

Diaz’s interview was a lose-lose. The radio hosts look petty and will never get Diaz on their show again. Diaz looked defensive, and she took the focus off her new movie, “Sex Tape,” and made the news her reaction. And of course, she unintentionally emphasized Barrymore’s drug issues.