Robert Downey Jr.Walks OUT on Rude Interviewer

Let me just first say that I have always, always LOVED Robert Downey Jr. Ever since I was a young kid I have adored him because he has always been so incredibly talented. Even in his dark days, I really liked this guy. I always had hope for him and to watch him climb from the gutters of addiction and become the star he is today is just incredible and makes an American proud.

This interview that was done by some dullard from the UK starts off with asking questions about the new movie coming out for Iron Man.

Finally the guy decides to badger Downey about a quote that was from Downey several years ago. Here is some history...

Downey did an interview after he got himself cleaned up and he made a quote that became rather controversial in Hollywood but was celebrated among the conservatives in America. This was from The New York Times in 2008:

“I have a really interesting political point of view, and it’s not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here. But you can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can’t. I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics every since.”



I have always believed that Downey was not necessarily speaking about being a Republican but rather that he changed in such a way that showed him the importance of taking personal responsibility for his life. Rather than externalizing blame, one needs to find strength inside of themselves.

If you have ever known people who have battled with drug abuse or alcohol abuse, it is clear that many of them carry along a victim type mentality. Now couple all this with Downey's fairly privileged background being born into Hollywood royalty, it's easy to see how a person can become full of themselves. Indulging in drugs and leading a careless life eventually led him to reach a bottom that many in Hollywood never see. That type of change clearly led him to becoming more humble and in turn generally more conservative. It goes along with the same old adage, "If you're in your 20's and you're not a liberal, you have no heart but if you're in your 30's and you're not a conservative you have no brain."

It's about growing up and it's about maturing. Some people put labels on it but, sometimes these labels change and sometimes the labels are accurate. I believe Downey was there to do an interview and not discuss politics. He's an actor and ultimately he's representing the studio. He's not there to isolate audience members talking about politics or philosophy. The questioning as it pertains to this type of interview was uncalled for and confrontational.

I'm very glad to see Downey walk out. It doesn't matter what he believed then or now. This type of questioning did not belong in this interview.