Piers Morgan Insults Robert Downey Jr. for Walking Out of TV Interview, The View Co-Hosts Support Avengers Star

Former CNN talk show host penned a scathing column about the interview for The Daily Mail

By Corinne Heller Apr 23, 2015 5:26 PMTags
Robert Downey Jr., Piers MorganChristopher Polk/D Dipasupil/Getty Images

Shade alert!

British TV and news personality Piers Morgan has harsh remarks for Robert Downey Jr. over his decision to walk out of an interview with the U.K.'s Channel 4 News after the reporter began asking about his past problems with drugs and alcohol. The outlet posted on Wednesday an edited, seven-minute video of the sit-down, which took place during a press tour to promote Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron. The actor reprises his role as Iron Man in the film, which hits theaters on May 1.

Morgan, a veteran U.K. newspaper editor who once co-judged America's Got Talent and hosted his own CNN talk show, now works as the U.S. editor-at-large for The Daily Mail and penned a scathing column blasting the actor's response.

"Ironman (sic) wouldn't run away from an interview, Mr. Downey Jr." Morgan said. "Man up and stop being such a pampered, overly-sensitive prima donna."

Downey has not responded to his remarks.

Meanwhile, the co-hosts of ABC's The View, came to the actor's defense and criticized Channel 4 interviewer Krishnan Guru-Murthy's behavior.

"People's past, you know, Downey was last in trouble in 2001," Whoopi Goldberg said. "Get on the movie closest to that if you have questions. Don't wait until the guy has solidly reestablished, done his time, did everything, to come back and try to show what kind of interviewers you are."

Watch: "The View" Defends Robert Downey Jr.'s Interview Exit

The Channel 4 video is titled "Robert Downey Jr full interview: star walks out when asked about past" and was posted on the outlet's official YouTube page on Wednesday. As of Thursday afternoon, it has been viewed more than 2.9 million times.

During the interview, the reporter talks to Downey about The Avengers and his character, Iron Man, for four minutes before he brings up comments he had made following a prison sentence (the actor served almost one year in prison, starting in 1999, for drug charges) and also references dark periods," "taking drugs and drinking and all of that." He asks Downey if he thinks he's "free of all of that," as the camera zooms in slowly on the actor's face.

"I'm sorry, I really don't- what are we doing?" he asks the interviewer, shaking his head.

"Well, I'm just asking questions, that's all," Guru Murthy replies.

"Bye," Downey says, waving as he gets up and leaves.

"Downey Jr's a big boy. He's done thousands of interviews and knows the game. If he didn't want to answer a specific question, all he had to do was smile and say ‘I'd rather not talk about that, sorry. Let's move on,'" Morgan says in his column. "It's really not difficult. Instead, he chose to behave like a pampered, cossetted, arrogant prima donna."

Guru-Murthy also defended himself on Twitter, in wake of what he called the actor's "#walkout." Downey's rep has not commented.

"Krishnan Guru-Murthy was just doing his job. And doing it in a manner entirely consistent with the way he normally does his job at Channel 4 News," Morgan added. "Robert Downey Jr. should have understood that, and been more courteous. He didn't have to spill out his guts about his past if he didn't want to. But nor did he have to throw his toys out of the pram. Ironman (sic), on balance, would have probably stuck it out." 

Morgan also noted people who had walked out on him after he posed questions they didn't want to answer—Republican politician Christine O'Donnell and Frasier star Kelsey Grammer.

"We recently bumped into each other and had a laugh about it," he added about the actor.