Late-night talk show hosts are predominantly male and often considerably older than the women they interview. This can invariably lead to some uncomfortable moments where we all get to witness some good old-fashioned sexism on TV.
Let's take a look through some of the more irksome displays of misogyny on late-night shows and see where the most egregious examples of late-night sexism fall.
The misogyny of this 2015 Conan O'Brien interview becomes especially apparent as Munn is surrounded by her male co-stars who are presented with a very different line of questioning.
Munn is joined by seven of her male co-stars from X-Men: Apocalypse and is immediately asked about her skin-tight costume and cup size by O'Brien. Most people probably aren't clamoring for hard-ball questions to be aimed at stars of superhero franchises, but something besides body type and latex could (maybe?) be skipped over in favor of character origins or superpowers.
Unfortunately, not in this case. During the interview, James McAvoy even gets a crack in about how Munn had to use lube to get into her costume. Munn didn't let these comments faze here and instead went into detail about her costume.
In this instance, late-night sexism has nothing to do with the host. Instead of the host being inappropriate, an apparently drunk and jet-lagged Mark Wahlberg gets increasingly handsy while on The Graham Norton Show.
As the interview progresses, Wahlberg focuses his energy on fellow guest Sarah Silverman and the host himself. On top of that, Wahlberg continually interrupts Silverman, talking over her while the comedian is clearly in the middle of her story.
Things go further downhill as, over the course of the interview, he attempts to kiss Silverman a couple of times and clambers onto Norton's lap to stroke his body.
One of the most blatant examples of televised misogyny took place on the British talk show Parkinson in 1975. During this interview, Helen Mirren is met with a barrage of questions from Michael Parkinson that dismiss her acting abilities – and instead focus on her breasts.
Right off the bat, Parkinson introduces Mirren as a "sex queen" and picks the most sexually charged critic's quote he can find, which refers to her as "especially telling in projecting sluttish eroticism."
Yet, this isn't the worst of the interview. When he talks to her, he puts air quotes around the words "serious actress," digging an even deeper hole by clarifying to her that he means she's an “unserious actress.” In the same interview, he also refers to her breasts as "equipment" that hinders her from getting serious roles.
Years later, Mirren referred to Parkinson as a "sexist old fart" when asked about the interview by The Telegraph.
Before Madonna even stepped foot onstage for her 1994 Late Night interview, Letterman introduced her inappropriately.
After listing her numerous musical successes, he took the intro down a more sexual path, capping off her achievements by listing the last one as her having “slept with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.”
Needless to say, Madonna was not here for this and shut Letterman down by cussing him out live on air, calling him a "sick f*ck."
In this 2012 interview with Nina Dobrev, the Vampire Diaries star shows off her yoga skills by using Conan O'Brien as a human wall.
For most of the interview, O'Brien acts like a cartoon wolf whose tongue has rolled out like a carpet. After she shows off her skills, he is seemingly reduced to running around and exhibiting inappropriateness for the duration of their talk.
Vergara was relatively unknown at the time, and from the moment she sits down, Cosby fixes her with an unwavering gaze as he crosses from behind the desk to sit beside her. While interviewing her, he repeatedly makes lewd comments like "men look at you, and they only think of sin." He also said that she makes him feel "excited" in a Spanish accent that adds a touch of racism to the mix.
