12 Times Women Had the Perfect Response to Being Underestimated
Amazing comebacks from Emma Stone, Rihanna, and more.
Let's not mince words: Women are often faced with sexist or obnoxious questions and comments. Celebrities and politicians, especially, contend with interviews that involve totally inappropriate questions on a regular basis (of the would you ask a man this? variety). But most women know that you don't have to take these kinds of questions lying down. Stand up for yourself and talk back, delivering a coup de grace that's heavy on wit, not snarling anger. Here, 12 times women had the absolutely perfect reply to an unfortunate situation, from Lauren Conrad to Hillary Clinton.
Mayim Bialik Reveals Her True IQ
Bialik plays a genius named Amy on CBS's The Big Bang Theory, but she's also one in real life: The actress earned her Ph.D. from UCLA in 2007 between shooting films and TV shows. Still, a reporter from TNT assumed at the SAG Awards in 2014 that Bialik was not quite as smart as her character: "So, being on The Big Bang Theory, how many people, not that you aren't a genius, how many people think that you can solve calculus at the drop of a hat?" he asked. "Um, I actually was trained in calculus for several years," Bialik replied. "I'm a neuroscientist."
Lauren Conrad Names Her Favorite Position
Conrad may have gotten her start on reality TV, but that doesn't mean she's not a totally capable, intelligent woman. Conrad fought against the assumption that a TV star should be a sex object when she appeared on SiriusXM in 2012. She was asked to draw a question from a mystery bag and the one that emerged was, "What's your favourite position?" Conrad paused and snapped, "CEO." Perfect.
Laverne Cox Stops an Invasive Question About Being Transgender
Cox has been a very patient and giving advocate for transgender awareness and rights, but the actress has her limits. There are some things that are simply not appropriate, as evidence by Cox's appearance on The Wendy Williams Show a few years ago. Williams asked Cox a lot of questions, including, "You've got breast implants?"
Cox responded, "Off camera, I can talk to you, but I've chosen not to talk about any of the stuff I've gotten done, because I think so often when trans people's experiences are talked about, we far too often focus on surgery and transition, so I don't talk about that. But I'm very happy with the situation."
Amy Schumer Responds To Body Shamers
Maybe it's because she's a comedian, but Schumer never hesitates to fight fire with fire. Last year, news came out that the actress would be voicing Barbie in new film from Sony. That led to a lot of Twitter users body shaming Schumer and tweeting quips like, "Barbie Goes To Fat Camp starring Amy Schumer." The comedian had the perfect reply though.
She posted a photo of herself in a bathing suit on Instagram and wrote a lengthy post taking down those trolls. "Very very honored to be nominated for 2 Grammys and to be considered to play an important and evolving icon," Schumer noted. "Is it fat shaming if you know you're not fat and have zero shame in your game? I don't think so. I am strong and proud of how I live my life and say what I mean and fight for what I believe in and I have a blast doing it with the people I love. Where's the shame? It's not there."
Hillary Clinton Won't Stand For Double Standards
As we saw during the 2016 election, there are very different standards for female politicians than there are for men. Hillary Clinton has frequently had to face these sorts of issues during her career and she's always put on a strong front, especially when people assume that she should care about her looks in a way that's different from her male counterparts. During an interview in 2011, Clinton was asked, "Which designers do you prefer?" She had the perfect response: "Would you ever ask a man that question?"
Elena Soreva Refuses To Answer Questions About Her Hair
Soreva is a cosmonaut who became the first Russian woman to go to the International Space Station—a huge achievement. But, seriously, what about her hair? During a 2014 press conference, someone asked Soreva, "Can you tell me more about your everyday life on the station? For example your hair? How are you planning to do your hair?"
Soreva, sitting amongst her all-male team, replied, "Can I ask a question too: Aren't you interested in the hair styles of my colleagues?"
Rihanna Says She Doesn't Need A Man
Rihanna is a fierce independent woman and a very talented, successful musician. But apparently, the thing that matters most to reporters is whether she's single. At a press event in 2014, someone asked the singer, "What are you looking for in a man now?" Rihanna's response? "I'm not looking for a man. Let's start there."
Amber Rose Shuts Down Slut-Shaming
Rose has become a great role model for women who don't want to be judged by their appearance. Rose, who started the annual Amber Rose SlutWalk to help combat sexist ideals and behavior, has no tolerance for anyone making assumptions based on her clothes.
During a talk show appearance, Rose shut down hosts Tyrese Gibson and Rev Run who implied that men might feel entitled to grab her on the street because she wears sexy outfits. Gibson said, "It's an energy that is sent out there that creates that type of response." Rose replied, "No it doesn't. No means no. That's it. It doesn't matter how far I take it or what I have on, when I say no, it means no." Preach.
Rashida Jones Stops A Question About Her Tan
Jones is the daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton, which makes her mixed-race. But that fact didn't stop one TNT interviewer from telling Jones that she looked "tan" during a televised interview. "You look like you've just come off, like, an island or something," the reporter noted. "You're very tan, very tropical." Jones wasn't having it.
"Well, you know," she said. "I'm ethnic." Unfortunately, the reporters thought it was a joke and laughed while one (white) reporter replied, "Me too." Oops.
Scarlett Johansson Halts Underwear Talk
Dear interviewers, please stop asking Scarlett Johansson about her underwear. That should have been the lesson learned during the actress' press campaign for The Avengers. Johansson played Black Widow, a superhero who wears a very tight black outfit (and kicks a lot of ass).
Extra asked the actress whether she wore undergarments with her costume, and Johansson was not interested. "Is it inappropriate?" the reporter asked when things got awkward. "To ask somebody what kind of underpants they wear?" Johansson replied quizzically. When pressed further to answer, Johansson simply replied, "Overalls. You wear Dungarees," and ended the query by asking, "What kind of interview is this?"
Anne Hathaway Redirects An Insulting Question
The actress' performance in Les Miserables earned her an Oscar, but after the film's premiere in 2012, all anyone could talk about was an upskirt photo snapped of the actress getting out of her car. Even Matt Lauer decided to talk to Hathaway about it on the Today show. But the actress wasn't having it and smartly used the interview as a way to redirect the attention onto her film.
"We've seen a lot of you lately," Lauer quipped, asking "What's the lesson learned from something like that?" Hathaway responded, "I'm sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies the sexuality of unwilling participants. Which brings us back to Les Mis because that's who my character is. She's someone who is forced to sell sex to benefit her child because she has nothing."
Emma Stone Refuses To Be Defined By Her Looks
We all know that Stone is a talented (Oscar-winning) actress, proven singer and dancer, and smart interviewee. But at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon in 2015, Stone wasn't having it when a reporter told her she looked good. "You look beautiful as always," the reporter said before posing a question. "Oh thank you," Stone zinged back. "That's all that matters."
Emily Zemler is a freelance writer and journalist based in London. She regularly contributes to the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and Observer, and is the author of five books.
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