What Would YOU Do? - Part 2

Let's say you're doing an interview on a syndicated radio show that goes out to millions of people...

And the host asks you something about a situation his audience is interested in...

You're not really feeling up to talking about it...and you tell him.

But his audience is interested, so he asks again...and again.  Like during this interview, for example.

How would you handle it?  Hang up and move on to the next station, answer the question, or something else?  As a celebrity, do you have an obligation to answer questions?

Post what you'd do below...

Comments

[Ron Carr]

I would say I would do just what Taylor did. She was uncomfortable about the whole situation, which you can see very clearly from the interview she did after the VMAs were finished (located here if you want to see it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khLAdnTsEbQ&feature=player_profilepage) Just listen to the way she answers the question "Were you a Kanye West fan before this all happened?"

You can tell Taylor is both slightly pissed and uncomfortable from what Kanye did, so I think asking the radio people to move on to a different question was a right she had. She didn't want to talk about it and if his viewers really didn't watch the View, they could ALWAYS look on YouTube for that particular segment where she dishes out everything.

So, in the end, yes you kind of have an obligation to answer the questions people ask you. The questions he was asking, she already answered, so if she wanted to move on, he should have respected her wishes. She shouldn't have had to ask THREE TIMES to get him to shut up. In my opinion, he was just rude to her and was insensitive.

RC~

[music. marketing. management.]

It's all about brand alignment, isn't it.

Kanye, Taylor, Beyonce, Russell Brand, Jay-Z, Billy Bob, they're all going to have different reactions that are in line with the persona that their fans have come to expect.

[Steven Wylie]

I agree. I would expect Eddie Vedder to simply flip off the reporter and keep walking. As a fan of Eddies myself, that is how i perceive him. And thats why I'm a fan. So if Taylor had been less than classy and talked a bunch of S#@% about Kanye with the reporter, than her fans would have been hugely let down.

Brand alignment. I'm going to remember that. Thanks for posting it.

[Krzysztof Wiszniewski]

Interesting situation. Myself, I'd have answered the questions in a non-commital manner and if the interviewer kept pressing the issue, I'd resort to "No comment". Over and over in the best tradition of politicians.

I'm not sure whether Taylor acted in the best way possible, though she did ask three times to move on. MJs rant at the end of the segment eroded any of my sympathy towards his position - if he wanted his questions answered, he could've played it out more sensitively (perhaps coming back to the issue after he'd gone over some other stuff to get Taylor back at ease). It should've been obvious to him that his interviewee was upset. Did he seriously expect that she'd answer his final question as formulated, when she obviously didn't want to talk about it, nor say anything against Kanye? Is he smoking crack?

[Hartley Singer]

Unless you've got some ethical problem with the question, find a way to give a reasonable, short response. It's not about you, it's about the listener. Either you meet your fans halfway or there is no connection. Your choice.

[David Hooper]

Well said!