Not everyone is qualified to interview celebrities.
Case in point: On Sunday, Vanity Fair tapped comedian Hannah Berner and her “Giggly Squad” podcast co-host, Paige DeSorbo, to interview celebrities on the red carpet for the magazine’s prestigious Oscars after-party event.
Most of the interviews that the duo — who also co-starred in the Bravo reality show “Summer House” — conducted came off as pretty standard red carpet fare. But one interview with rapper Megan Thee Stallion rubbed many TikTok users the wrong way.
In the interview, both women instantly started fawning over the “Savage” musician, speaking in platitudes and talking over the hip-hop star. While DeSorbo said she always starts her day with a little bit of Megan’s music, Berner took the conversation in a truly awkward direction.
“Your music has literally like, made me … when I want to fight someone, I listen to your music,” Berner said.
“You want to throw that fighting shit out the window,” Megan swiftly responded. “You want to get cute and be a bad bitch.”
The “Mamushi” musician shutting down the idea of using her music to perpetuate violence makes a whole lot of sense considering that she’s a survivor of assault. In 2023, rapper Tory Lanez was found guilty of three felonies and sentenced to 10 years in prison for a 2020 incident in which he shot at and wounded Megan.
During Lanez’s sentencing, a letter written by Megan was read in court.
“Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace,” Megan’s statement read. “Slowly but surely, I’m healing and coming back, but I will never be the same.”
Yet, despite the fact that the “Plan B” rapper’s case was widely reported, Berner didn’t seem to get the hint that Megan didn’t want to advocate for violence during their interview Sunday.
“When people are talking shit, I go, ‘Turn on Megan Thee Stallion!’” Berner continued while jumping up and down.
“Body-ody-ody, I look beautiful, I look so great,” Megan responded, referencing the chorus of her hit song “Body,” and clearly trying to change the subject.
Oddly enough, Berner then decided to bring up Megan’s 2024 Amazon documentary, “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words,” which focuses on the shooting and the unfair fallout the rapper initially received after the incident.
“I know, because I watched your documentary,” Berner began, “you’ve been through so many dark things. How do you get yourself up and inspire people?”
“I just look in the mirror, and I be like, ‘Damn, you that girl. Right? Yeah, you are that girl! So, go outside and act like you that girl!’ And that’s how I tackle my day,” Megan said.
“I’m crying,” Berner responded.
Although some may watch the interview and find it fine (if not a little messy), many TikTok users were disturbed by it. Being that Berner focused so much of her interview with Megan talking about violence, some commenters wrote off the interview as “racist.” Other commenters agreed by saying it was littered with racial “microaggressions.” The term is used to describe subtle “insults, indignities and demeaning messages sent to people of color” by those who may be oblivious to how their words are affecting the person of color, according to Columbia University professor Derald Wing Sue.
“This felt so racist. And they didn’t let her finish most her sentences,” one TikTok user commented.
“Very micro aggressive. Megs music isn’t about fighting and the fangirling is a spectacle. Please hire real interviewers that know how to talk to black women as PEOPLE and not characters,” another commenter wrote.
“These micro aggressions are MACRO. Who is this little girl?” a third said.
“The racism is LOUD!” another commented.
“Talking over her, unable to keep their composure, calling her violent when she never raps about violence (& is actually a victim of violence), hmmmm,” said another.
“Yall keeping the clip up is a choice” another commenter said, aiming their criticism at Vanity Fair.
HuffPost has reached out to Megan Thee Stallion, Berner, DeSorbo and Vanity Fair parent company Condé Nast for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
On Thursday, Berner released a statement via an Instagram story in which she apologized to Megan, writing, “It was a careless choice of words and though there was no ill intent, I recognize and acknowledge that what I said has much a much deeper meaning.”
Ericka Hart, a former professor at the Columbia School of Social Work, summed up her thoughts about Berner’s interview with Megan the Stallion in a video published to her Instagram account Wednesday.
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In her video, Hart calls Berner’s assertion that Megan’s music makes her want to fight “a microaggression disguised as a compliment.” She also noted that Berner and DeSorbo didn’t display the same over-the-top behavior or talk over white celebrities they interviewed on the red carpet.
“It’s too much because they’re uncomfortable,” Hart said. “You’re uncomfortable being in the presence of a Black person … so you mask it with compliments, and it’s horrible. It’s just microaggressions. Go deal with yourselves.”