In the glitzy world of Hollywood, when meticulous public relations teams closely watch what celebrities say, it's rare to witness the raw, unfiltered essence of high-profile personalities. Yet, there were some memorable instances when, for better or for worse, celebs let their guard down due to the intoxicating influence of alcohol or other substances.
From getting into impassioned political rants to randomly climbing on a talk show host's lap, here are some of the most bizarre moments when celebrities showed up to be interviewed while under the influence.
#1 Mark Wahlberg
Wahlberg was invited on the Graham Norton Show to promote his 2013 film Broken City, along with guests Sarah Silverman and Michael Fassbender. At one point, he pulled the comedian into his arms while she was telling an anecdote, telling her, “You smell so good.”
Later on, he randomly sat on the host’s lap after Silverman began telling another anecdote he wasn’t interested in.
Graham spoke with Digital Spy about his inebriated guest, saying he didn’t “judge” the 52-year-old actor, whom he believed to be a “really lovely guy.”
“Mark Wahlberg's been on the show before, and he's a really lovely guy. We've all done that thing where you suddenly realize, 'I'm by far the drunkest person at this dinner party' and you don't know how that happened. It was a bit like that, so I don't judge him harshly at all.”
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49points
#2 Miley Cyrus
During a 2015 interview with Jimmy Fallon, the Flowers singer put on a pair of bunny ears with an embroidered veil and said, “I’m a freakin’ bunny that is doing an interview. And my skirt is yellow, and so is my top.”
The odd moment took place during a segment called “Emotional Interview,” in which the late-night host and the singer had to follow a specific emotion or situation for their conversation.
That one was “one-upping each other,” but it seems like there was no one more intoxicated than Miley in that room.
When she sat down with Jimmy once again in 2017, Miley told the host, "You, without knowing it, were kind of a reason for [me quitting weed]. Because I've always been very stoned on your shows.”
“Remember the last time I was here? I think I was dressed as, like, a bunny rabbit and then, like, a cat? There's a reason for that...I was high."
44points
#3 Jessica Simpson
In 2020, Simpson revealed that she couldn’t “even watch” her 2017 appearance on The Ellen Show, given that it took place during “a weak moment” in the performer’s life.
While she didn’t display the stereotypical drunk behavior, getting loud, angry, or overly affectionate, Simpson was inwardly battling with addiction.
“I wasn't in the right place... I had started a spiral, and I couldn't catch up with myself, and that was with alcohol,” she told Today about her struggle with alcoholism.
Simpson has been sober since 2018. As she recalled in her memoir, the moment that made her change was during a Halloween party, when, after taking a few drinks, she found herself unable to dress her kids for the special evening.
Speaking with her close circle of friends, the singer said: "I need to stop. Something's got to stop. And if it's alcohol that's doing this and making things worse, then I quit."
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40points
#4 Danny Devito
In 2006, Danny DeVito did an interview on The View the day after partying with George Clooney. He was still visibly drunk from all the limoncello shots.
“I knew it was the last seven limoncellos that were gonna get me,” the actor said before admitting that he didn’t know whether he had slept at all.
He proceeded to make strange sounds while slapping his face, confirming that sleep deprivation and alcohol are not a great mix, and making everyone in the room burst out laughing.
He even boasted about sleeping in the Lincoln bedroom during a visit to the White House.
Ultimately, one of the hosts had to remind him of the reason behind the interview: the promotion of his brand-new movie, Deck the Halls.
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33points
#5 Andy Cohen
CNN’s famous New Year’s Eve Bash was especially memorable in 2022, when talk-show host Andy Cohen got wasted and began making political comments on live television beside a visibly embarrassed Anderson Cooper.
Cohen’s drunken words targeted former New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio. “The only thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on is what a horrible mayor he has been.”
“So, Sayonara, sucker!” the journalist screamed.
In a later interview with Seth Meyers, Cohen admitted that he didn’t remember parts of his intoxicated New Year's Eve rant.
“(He and Anderson Cooper) got in the car after, and we were leaving Times Square. That clip was on Twitter, and I said ‘Oh, this is the De Blasio thing’. And I had fully forgotten or not realized that I’d said ‘Sayonara, sucker.’”
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33points
#6 Chris O'dowd
The Irish actor’s tipsy interview on The Last Leg in 2018 was a mess. His appearance included an hilarious anecdote in which his pet relieved itself on a Banksy dog art piece.
“For whatever reason, my dog thought it was the place that he should take a piss,” he said.
“If alcohol brings out our true self, I am happy to see that Chris O'Dowd has the sweetest of hearts, and is a truly funny and charming person,” a fan wrote about the memorable interview.
The next day, O’Dowd posted on X: "Didn't feel like I drank a bunch, but I went to the studio from the gym and skipped dinner. Unwise, in retrospect."
While he was “a little embarrassed” about the incident, he acknowledged that it wasn’t that big of a deal. “To keep things in perspective, it's a tipsy comedian on a late night chat show on Channel 4. I wasn't doing meth on BBC Breakfast. But thanks for your concern, genuinely."
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31points
#7 Willie Nelson
Just like Kevin Durant, the country legend enjoys smoking marijuana to ease his mind, or so he admitted during a talk with Larry King in 2017.
“Did you smoke pot today? This day?” the host inquired.
“Yeah, sure,” Nelson confirmed.
Larry was still in disbelief: “So you! You have pot in you right now!”
“Yeah, you could arrest me,” the 90-year-old American singer joked.
In 2019, Willie revealed that marijuana “saved his life” and helped him with his alcohol addiction.
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25points
#8 Kevin Durant
For someone who’s having an open and honest conversation about the need to destigmatize marijuana consumption, it makes sense that Kevin Durant was high during his appearance on David Letterman’s My Guest Needs No Introduction last year.
The NBA star shared that he was in the marijuana business and had partnered with Weedmaps, a site that lets users find medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries near them.
“We’re trying to figure out ways to change the narrative around athletes and marijuana,” he said, before revealing that he started smoking the drug at age 22.
He continued by highlighting the benefits the drug had on his mood. “To me, it clears the distractions out of your brain a little bit, lets you settle down. It’s like having a glass of wine.”
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22points
#9 Drew Barrymore
While Drew seemed to be pretty balanced when she sat down for an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2018, a toxicology test would say otherwise.
Speaking with Andy two years later, the actress revealed, "It was on your show, and I drank too much, and I have never forgiven myself, nor will I ever forgive myself. I'm an imperfect person, and I tout that, and I've had that liberty since I was a kid because it was all out there.”
She also expressed remorse about her behavior. “I really want to apologize to you because I really — I just, I will never let that happen again. I'm so sorry."
The host replied that Drew didn’t have to “apologize for being overserved” on the show, and that she’s in a “great club of people.”
21points
#10 Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, And Ben Gazzara
In 1970, the director of the comedy-drama film Husbands, John Cassavetes, joined cast members Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara for an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show.
Nearly seventeen minutes into the show, the host asked the men, “Are you guys all smashed?”
The guests' antics included removing their shoes and smelling each other’s feet, smoking, yelling, and piling on the floor, a chaotic behavior that led the host to walk off.
“It was out of the blue. It was astonishing. I could not believe it while it was happening,” Dick told the New Yorker in 2014. “I think I watched it a year or so ago, and it seemed even worse than I remembered it.”
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17points
#11 Jay Leno And The Cast Of Cheers
After the cast of Cheers appeared for an interview on Jay Leno back in 1993 to honor the last episode of the show going on air, people began criticizing the sitcom stars, calling them “jerks” and “idiots” for their inebriated conduct.
“Those people were so drunk I don't know what else we could have done in a live situation. You don't tell these people how to behave. Nobody tells them what to do... Was it a great show? No,” Leno admitted to Herald TV that night.
Still, he also acknowledged that doing the live show from Boston’s Bull and Finch pub wasn’t exactly a bright idea.
“I guess you have to expect people to show up totally drunk when you do a live show from a real bar. In a real bar, everybody drinks real drinks.”
The only guest who wasn’t intoxicated, he said, was Sen. John Kerry.
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17points
#12 Madonna
The first thing that Madonna said when she sat down with David Letterman in 1994 was, “I’m only here because there wasn’t an escape.” She then compared the host’s hair to a rug, said he “irritated” her, dropped several F-bombs, and started smoking a cigar.
“Dave was incredible the way he held his composure and harmlessly fired back at Madonna in a friendly way. Not easy to do…” someone weighed in on the infamous interview.
Another user wrote: “I still laugh out loud at this interview every single time. A superstar being so chaotic on live TV back then was so wild, iconic.”
Upon her return to Letterman in 2009, the Queen of Pop admitted that her mood “may have had something to do with the joint I smoked before I came on."
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15points
#13 Steve-O
The entertainer and stunt performer received a call from the Too Late With Adam Carolla show to do a tablecloth trick on television that he had previously done on tour.
After he showed them the trick, producers told him, “'You know, we can get away with edgier stuff because we're on Comedy Central.” So Steve suggested getting as drunk as possible for the stunt.
He then brought a massive bottle of vodka to the set and began drinking before the interview, which would be the "drunkest [he] ever was on television."
“I get backstage, I'm already loaded... [They] brought me out. I can't remember a damn thing,” the performer described in a 2020 YouTube video.
The description reads: “This video demonstrates how my identity as both a person and [an] entertainer were overwhelmed by my alcoholism."
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10points
#14 John Stamos
In 2007, Stamos was furious with a Daily Telegraph reporter who released a video that "made it seem like [John] was on drugs, which was not true."
Naturally, he wanted to let everyone on the Australian show Mornings With Kerri-Anne know about his feud.
“This genius took a shot at me at the papers for being tired. And you know why he did that? ‘Cuz he has a small penis,” the star said. He also mentioned that, despite not sleeping much, he was still “funny as hell.”
Reflecting on his state, the Wedding Wars actor told the Advocate: I'll be honest: When I went on that morning show, I was drunk. Yes, I was on sleeping pills, and I was jet-lagged, but I was also just plastered.”
“And I never said I wasn't, but that whole Warner Bros. publicity machine got involved and said, 'Just say he was jet-lagged.' I said, 'No, tell 'em the truth! I was fucking drunk in Australia.’”
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10points
#15 Paula Abdul
The American Idol judge unveiled a different side of her personality during a strange interview with Fox in 2008.
The clip shows Abdul slurring her words and giving nonsensical answers.
When she was asked what she was looking forward to for the upcoming American Idol season, the Straight Up singer went blank before saying, “Is that what it is? I was wondering, ‘What is that?’”
After she was asked the question again, she responded, “How about a lot of you coming in? It’s a wild party where you are.”
Responding to the media speculations and concern regarding her demeanor, the singer-songwriter said she “never had a drinking problem” and has always been “goofy.”
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5points