celebrity

Lindsay Lohan was interviewed by David Letterman in 2013. It's horrifying to watch now.

The release of the Framing Britney Spears documentary has proffered a fresh lens through which the world is understanding the exploitation suffered by female pop-stars and actors in the noughties and beyond. 

The media's treatment of Spears, in particular, is retrospectively being seen as highly invasive, sexist and insensitive.

At multiple points in the documentary, we see interviewers ask inappropriate questions. When Spears was 10-years-old, for example, the host of a talent show asked if she has a boyfriend. When she was 17-years-old, an interviewer told Spears that "everyone's talking" about "[her] breasts". At 21, the popstar was asked if she was a virgin.

Watch the trailer for Framing Britney Spears here. Post continues below. 


Video via Hulu

It was a sobering insight into what led to the singer's now-infamous meltdown. 

But Britney Spears was not the only famous woman to suffer invasive questioning at the hands of the media.  

In the wake of the documentary, Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes are two other women whose life in the spotlight is being looked at with a modern lens. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Listen to The Quicky, Mamamia's daily news podcast. Post continues below. 

Now, former host of The Late Show David Letterman is receiving criticism online for his 2013 interview with Lohan, during which he made fun of her for going to rehab. 

On Saturday, Twitter user Trey Taylor shared a video that has since gone viral, showing excerpts of the interview in which Letterman jokes about Lohan's drug addiction. 

ADVERTISEMENT

“Aren’t you supposed to be in rehab now?” the host asks.

“Do you not watch anything that goes on?” Lohan responds. “What are you a tabloid now?”

The actress appears visibly uncomfortable, whilst the host continued to probe. 

“What are they rehab-ing, first of all? What is on their list? What are they going to work on when you walk through the door?” Letterman continues, as the studio audience laughs. 

The now 34-year-old verbalises her discomfort, saying: "We didn't discuss this in the pre-interview." 

She continued: "I think, to be honest, I'm happiest when I'm working and the healthiest and I think this is an opportunity for me to focus on what I love and I don't think it's a bad thing, I think it's a blessing.

Letterman then bluntly asked: "Do you have addiction problems?"

As the host continues, Lohan reminds him she is there to promote her film, Scary Movie 5. Alas, he seemingly wasn't interested in her work, and more so her rehab. 

"You can't make a joke of it," Lindsay told him, refusing to answer more questions about rehab. "That's so mean."

Thousands are responding with outrage, demanding Letterman to apologise.

ADVERTISEMENT


ADVERTISEMENT


ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Neither Lohan or Letterman, who is currently the host of Netflix's My Next Guest, have commented on the matter. 

Feature image: Getty


Sign up for the "Mamamia Daily" newsletter. Get across the stories women are talking about today.