Why do celebrity interviews go wrong? In my opinion, the answer is simple: journalists crossing the line.
Watch any YouTube compilation of interview fails (questions about breakups and reconciliations, diets and drugs) and you’ll be amazed that these celebrities are even being interviewed in the first place.
So it’s interesting to consider the latest modern celebrity favorite, Chicken Shop Dates, hosted by British comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg. The YouTube interview series is simple yet engaging: Dimoldenberg chats with famous guests over nuggets and fries in a few small chicken shops around London.
Since the show’s first episode, featuring rapper Ghetts in 2014, Dimoldenberg has “dated” everyone from Oscar-winning actors to Grammy-winning artists. She’s made Cher laugh and been romantically linked to all three members of the Jonas Brothers. But Dimoldenberg’s persona in front of the camera is anything but graceful. Instead, it’s purposefully awkward and clumsy.
“I’m not on the menu,” she jokes to Album of the Year winner Billie Eilish, before pointing out to Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya that her type is “an actor… a good actor… not you.” With elegant deadpan, she wonders if Jack Harlow can read and asks Paul Mescal to audition for a romantic comedy filled with sentimental love confessions.
The awkward energy in the air was reminiscent of a first date — conversation stalls, no music, the sound of frying pans suddenly ringing — made me cringe at times, but I remained captivated by the quirky chemistry of each interaction, which Dimoldenberg says is the point.
“There’s no way you could ever seduce a celebrity,” she told Vanity Fair in an interview, “and that’s why I think it’s interesting, because you’re watching something that bends the rules and subverts the interview.”
Given Dimoldenberg’s one-sided approach, mild aggression and reluctance to break character, “Chicken Shop” shouldn’t be a success, and yet it is.
Unlike many other hosts, such as Diane Sawyer, who infamously made Britney Spears cry over her ex-boyfriend, her approach isn’t mean, just quirky. This time, the main attraction isn’t the celebrities, it’s Dimoldenberg. So it’s no wonder that the show is most satisfying when Dimoldenberg succeeds in “destroying” her guests. All pressure and dignity disappears when the guests succumb to the absurdity. The individuality is not forced, it’s willed.
In one episode, actress Jennifer Lawrence recalls a mystery co-star’s lackluster kissing technique. Though she won’t reveal the co-star’s identity to viewers, in a whisper, as if she were gossiping with a girlfriend, Lawrence reassures Dimoldenberg, “I’ll tell you later.” Given how media-trained celebrities are to guard their images, it’s refreshing to watch these friendships develop, and judging by Chicken Shop Date’s 566.3 million views, the Internet seems to agree.
And who knows where her relationship skills will take her. Outside of the chicken shop, Dimoldenberg is a fixture at high-profile events. Former guests, or “ex-boyfriends,” scout her out on the GQ red carpet; she fetches potential dates at the Oscars and BAFTAs.
“I only want to see you,” actor Andrew Garfield told Dimoldenberg at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, two months after the pair met for the first time. As if noticing the game gleam in Dimoldenberg’s eye, he quickly added: “I only want to see you in these situations!”
Dimoldenberg is the rare journalist whose celebrity clients are happy, not suffocated. Hopefully this eccentricity will give her staying power in a fickle industry. As long as Dimoldenberg keeps up with her chicken-flavored temptations, I’ll keep devouring them.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and contains subjective thoughts, opinions, and critiques.
