Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
Since 2020, actor Drew Barrymore has thrived as the host of her eponymous daytime talk show. One of her greatest strengths is her ability to be vulnerable with her guests and discuss uncomfortable topics. This is exemplified in a recent interview with actor Brooke Shields. Shields went on the show to promote the release of her new documentary series Pretty Baby, which details the actor as she “becomes a woman who discovers her power after being a sexualized young girl.”
Barrymore and Shields were both child actors who never had anonymity before fame. In the conversation on Barrymore’s show, they sit closer to one another—Barrymore sitting cross-legged on the couch—and have a raw, honest conversation about their shared experiences in the entertainment industry as young girls.
The part of the interview that has gained the most attention online is their discussion of the Me Too movement that began in 2017. Barrymore asked Shields if she found that her experiences in childhood impacted how she felt about it.
“This is gonna seem like a very weird turn,” Barrymore said. “But how did you feel about the Me Too movement, in the sense of, I didn’t feel like I had a dog in that race. I didn’t feel like I could speak to it, because I experienced things that were so inappropriate at such a young age…We were children. How did that movement affect you? Did you feel like you could speak to it?”
Shields understood, noting that she had trouble interpreting her own experiences. “I was made to feel culpable, but at the same time you victim-shame yourself,” Shields said. “We were so young and it was so ‘appropriate.’ I couldn’t feel sorry. I didn’t even know. I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know.”
“I felt like I couldn’t speak to the movement,” Barrymore added, “and I was so happy that it was happening, but I felt like I experienced too many things that were so gray and so awkward and I didn’t know were wrong at the time.”
It’s a raw, and at times emotional, exchange that has resonated with many; the challenging subject matter and the nuanced conversation are applicable to those who exist outside of the spotlight. It can speak to anyone who is processing inappropriate behavior or trauma. Because, as Shields said in the interview, “We’re all people just trying to get through life.”
Scroll down to watch the clip and a longer cut of the conversation.
An interview between Drew Barrymore and Brooke Shields is being praised for its raw and honest conversation about the Me Too movement and their complicated feelings about it.
.@BrookeShields talks to Drew about the “Me Too” movement and being sexualized in Hollywood at a young age.
Watch #PrettyBaby: Brooke Shields now on @hulu. pic.twitter.com/F2Y9scpEnM
— The Drew Barrymore Show (@DrewBarrymoreTV) April 11, 2023
Although the conversation took place between two actors, it resonated with those outside of the spotlight.
Thank you. When things happen to us as children it’s easy to burry it, brush it off, put it in the back of your head. Sometimes questioning if it happened because as adults it’s hard to remember and often too painful. There is also shame. You are both strong and inspiring women.
— Damon Gonzalez (@TheyCallMeDaymz) April 11, 2023
this is the side of #metoo that isn’t discussed enough.
in order for us to participate and have the conversation we first have to deconstruct our life and acknowledge the horrible things that happened that we thought were “normal”
speaking up is never, ever free. https://t.co/4O0bUmKDQL
— Becky (and Dwight) (@BeccaLizz) April 12, 2023
People were awestruck by Barrymore’s interviewing skills and her ability to connect with her guests.
The wonderful and fascinating thing about Drew as a talk show host is she speaks to her guests as if there’s no audience. In her doing so, you don’t feel forgotten or ignored, but like you’ve been allowed into an intimate space that requires the utmost respect. https://t.co/tdanqFl5UH
— star•gyal (@beequammie) April 11, 2023
Drew is made for this. From her eye contact to her body language to everything, you know that she is locked in and really wants to make a safe space and she does it with the utmost care. I feel like she’d do this exact thing if the camera wasn’t there. https://t.co/vQo7KKUYJV
— this barbie hosts ✨The Afternoon Special✨ (@hiimbobbi) April 11, 2023
Drew is a revelation. Look at how she centers Brook, connects with her, draws out a new angle of a years old conversation. She does it in a way that doesn’t feel invasive. Truly, she’s remarkable. This is a gift. https://t.co/HRBM9v06bt
— Joelle Monique ✍🏾 (@JoelleMonique) April 12, 2023
I don’t think I realized how cold so many talk shows are until i saw Drew Barrymore be so intimate with her interviews.
The sincerity radiates from her. https://t.co/GkgOv8jJjh
— Ant 💀 Working Right Now on a Novel (@AGramuglia) April 11, 2023
It’s part of a longer conversation between the two women as they reflect on their complicated (and famous) childhoods.
For more about Brooke Shields, watch her documentary series Pretty Baby, now on Hulu. Watch the trailer below:
h/t: [BuzzFeed]
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