Brooke Shields opens up about controversial Barbara Walters interview

2022-11-22

Brooke Shields opens up about controversial Barbara Walters interview where she asked invasive questions about her body when she was just 15: ‘It wasn’t right’

Brooke Shields, 57, blasted Barbara Walters for being ‘unrelenting’ during interviews with the star in 1981 following her breakthrough role
The actress, who was 15 at the time, said she was uncomfortable being pressed about her ‘measurements’ and Walters standing next to her comparing their sizes
Shields also took aim at another unidentified female interviewer, saying she felt ’empowered’ by being able to answer back
Women’s rights activist Walters has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since she retired back in 2014 after a career spanning more than five decades
Actress and model Shields was plunged into the world of showbusiness almost from birth, with her mother Teri promoting her daughter as a child model and actress when she was an infant

Brooke Shields has hit out at journalist Barbara Walters for her ‘probing’ questions as she opened up on some of her more controversial interviews on The Drew Barrymore Show.

The 57-year-old model was just 15 years old when she was interviewed by iconic Walters, 93, in 1981, following her breakthrough role in The Blue Lagoon.

Shields was promoting her new HBO Max movie Holiday Harmony on Tuesday’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, when she got very candid about how she felt some interviews were inappropriate.

Barrymore recalled an interview she did with Walters when she was in her early 20s and Walters was pressing her about her substance abuse issues, bisexuality and more, adding, ‘she would not relent.’

Shields mentioned that she wanted ‘the negative sound bite’ while revealing her experiences with Walters – who has been out of the spotlight since 2016 when she attended the New York premiere of Woody Allen’s film Cafe Society.

Brooke Shields opened up on some of her more controversial interviews – including her infamous one with Barbara Walters, 93, when she was just 15 – on The Drew Barrymore Show

The 57-year-old model was just 15 years old when she was interviewed by Walters in 1981, following her breakthrough role in The Blue Lagoon

Walters asked Shields what her ‘measurements’ were, before standing next to her to show ‘how tall and slim’ the child actress was

Shields explained: ‘She asked me what my measurements were and asked me to stand up, and I stand up and she’s like comparing herself to this little girl, and I thought, “This isn’t right. I don’t understand what this is.”

‘But I just, I behaved and smiled and felt like so taken advantage of in so many ways.’

‘But over the years, you know when you’ve been in the public eye and have been commented on all the time, everybody has an opinion, and you all get to say it, and now that’s where social media I think can be dangerous. Then you learn to say no this is my truth,’ Shields added.

During the interview, Walters asks her what her measurements are before probing into her family life with Shields’ mother Teri, who was an alcoholic, sitting next to her the entire time.

Walters stood next to the then 15-year-old to highlight how tall and slim she was, with Shields explaining her father was tall.

Shields was pictured with iconic broadcaster Barbara Walters at one of her last public event in 2016, pictured together at The Hollywood Reporter’s 5th Annual 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media

‘She asked me what my measurements were and asked me to stand up, and I stand up and she’s like comparing herself to this little girl, and I thought, ‘This isn’t right. I don’t understand what this is,’ Shields explained

When Walters asks if she feels she was missing out on her childhood, Shields replies: ‘I’m still going through my childhood, so I can’t say I didn’t.’

Then when asked how she felt sitting down and doing interviews, Shields said: ‘I’d rather do this than not do it at all. I enjoy this. It’s an experience that I would not like to miss.’

When quizzing Shields Walters also turned to her mother Teri, to ask her how she felt about claims she’d taken her daughter’s childhood away – something they both denied at the time.

However Shields has since opened up about her sometimes strained relationship with her late mother, who passed away in 2012, who she describes as an alcoholic in her memoir.

Teri began promoting her daughter as a child model and actress when she was an infant, and allowed her to be cast as a child prostitute in the 1978 film ‘Pretty Baby’.

She also arranged for a photographer to take nude photos of Brooke when she was just 10, telling Bill Boggs that her daughter was ‘at an age where she couldn’t talk back.’

‘But I just, I behaved and smiled and felt like so taken advantage of in so many ways,’ she added

Shields also spoke about another interview that happened when she was even younger – 10 years old – with another woman interviewer

During the interview, Walters asks her what her measurements are before probing into her family life with Shields’ mother Teri, who was an alcoholic, sitting next to her the entire time

Walters, who was named in TIME’s first women leaders, is known as one of the most seasoned interviewers in the world but has kept to herself for the past few years.

The women’s rights activist has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since she retired back in 2014 after a career spanning more than five decades.

Barbara created The View in 1997, with the aim of showing women from different generations and walks of life discussing the issues of the day.

Through numerous line-up changes, Barbara remained as a panellist on the show until she decided to retire in 2014.

However many fans were quick to defend the seasoned reporter, blasting Shields for targeting a ’93-year-old woman with dementia’.

Shields also spoke about another interview that happened when she was even younger – just ten years old – with another woman interviewer. She did not go into detail about who the journalist was.

The actress, right, got her breakthrough role in Blue Lagoon. Pictured next to Christopher Atkins on set

She also spoke about her new SKIMS campaign, which launched back in late September and also featured Juliette Lewis, Chelsea Handler, Cassie, Becky G and Indya Moore

Shields also spoke about another interview that happened when she was even younger – just ten years old – with another woman interviewer. She did not go into detail about who the journalist was

‘I had to watch an interview of when I was ten or something like that and this woman asked the same question repeatedly,’ she began.

‘I finally as this little girl, I said, “I don’t think you wanna know my answer because you keep asking me the same question and this is my answer but I can’t change it because it’s my truth,”‘ Shields explained.

She is not the first actress to take aim at a journalist in a historic interview, with Maya Rudolph sparking a backlash after saying she did ‘not have a good time’ when she was interviewed on The Late Show back in 2009.

Rudolph claimed that Letterman had ‘embarrassed and humiliated her’ on her first appearance of the show by mispronouncing her name.

However she did not acknowledge that the icon apologized for making the error, telling her, ‘from the bottom of my heart I sincerely apologize.’

‘The whole thing was so quick but it was so empowering. It was just empowering on a very large level,’ she said

Teri began promoting her daughter as a child model and actress when she was an infant, and allowed her to be cast as a child prostitute in the 1978 film ‘Pretty Baby’

‘What was scary to me was that normally I have this sort of way of getting prepared for something…and you kinda go into, “I’m gonna workout, I’m gonna eat better,”…I had no time, and I just thought, “You know what, stop judging yourself. Listen to the music, go just act as if,” Shields said

Shields also spoke about her new SKIMS campaign, which launched back in late September and also featured Juliette Lewis, Chelsea Handler, Cassie, Becky G and Indya Moore.

‘The whole thing was so quick but it was so empowering. It was just empowering on a very large level,’ she said.

‘When you see confidence, even if you have to fake it, I had to fake it until I made it, and I was doing it in real time and I thought, “Okay, get your posture right. Walk out as if you’ve always deserved to be here,”‘ she added.

‘I felt like I was in a trainwreck by the end of it…but it was an honor. It’s an honor that I get asked back anywhere. Kim herself DM’ed me the next day. There was a human piece to it, that probably shocked me more than the fact that I had the guts at all to get in underwear after this few years,’ Brooke said.

When asked about Kim’s DM, Shields said, ‘She DM’ed me this message and she was like, “You know, I just wanted to say thank you. We were so excited and it was such an honor,” and I said, “Say hi to your mom.”‘

Shields also has Out of Order with Brandon Routh and Luis Guzman in post-production and she’s filming Quarter with Eric Roberts and Brec Bassinger.

Shields was photographed as part of a controversial Calvin Klein Jeans ad in 1980 when she was just 15

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