The promo machine can be gruelling enough for an actor talking up a new film, even if everyone's being nice to you. So spare a thought for poor Jonah Hill, who was savagely mocked live on French TV when out doing press for War Dogs back in 2016. Watch the brutal scenes below:
Hill was appearing on French channel CanalPlus' flagship programme Le Grand Journal, to promote Joker director Todd Phillips' dark comedy, alongside co-star Miles Teller.
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However, the appearance didn't really go as planned for the Superbad actor, as the show's weather reporter Ornella Fleury mocked him during an awkward exchange.
Fleury spoke in French, with Hill receiving her commentary translated via an earpiece. The mischievous presenter began by referencing a scene in 2013's comedy thriller This is the End, where Hill has a sexual encounter with a monster.
She said: "When I saw you get sodomised by a three-meter-tall demon in This is the End, I told myself, 'Now that's the man of my dreams!'"
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Hill replied by saying: "I hear you get sodomised pretty often."
Not very nice, but... well, that's the level of discourse we're dealing with here.
However, this didn't seem to deter Fleury and she pressed on to describe her 'sexual fantasy'.
She explained: "We would meet up in a hotel room at night.
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"We would chat, you'd make me laugh. Then all of a sudden, you'd bring your friends [Leonardo] DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, and then you'd go away."
The cringeworthy conversation ended with Hill saying: "I'm glad I came on this show to get ridiculed by your local weather girl."
While on camera, the actor was able to keep his cool, although there were reports that he subsequently opted to pull out of all promotional work for the film in France.
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However, this turned out not to be true.
For her part, Fleury offered a formal apology, saying that she felt like she knew Hill from seeing him on film for over a decade.
"I really had the impression that I knew you," she said.
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"I thought I was just messing around with a friend, but the reality is that we are not friends."
She went on to joke that Hill had two Oscar nominations and had worked with directors such as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, while she had only a kitchen sponge commercial on her resume.
The interview came at a time when Le Grand Journal was shedding viewers amidst various changes in presenting tone and content. The show ultimately was cancelled just a few months after the interview, as ratings plummeted.
As for War Dogs, it didn't fare an awful lot better, although it did at least gross worldwide box office receipts of $86.2 million against a budget of $40m.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Jonah Hill