E! Reporter Says Jake Gyllenhaal Made Her Cry on Red Carpet
Ali Fedotowsky was worried she'd lose her job after her awkward interaction with the actor.
After coming to fame on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Ali Fedotowsky made the career move to entertainment news. But despite her experience being on camera herself, her first time interviewing celebrities on a red carpet was a bit of a disaster. While appearing on the podcast Women on Top, Fedotowsky shared that an interaction with Jake Gyllenhaal at a movie premiere made her cry. The former correspondent also said that she was caught so off guard by how he responded to her question, that became sure she was going to lose her job. Read on to find out what happened.
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Fedotowsky went from reality TV star to E! correspondent.
When Fedotowsky joined The Bachelor, she was working for Facebook. She ended up leaving in the middle of the season, however, because she wasn't able to stay away from her job any longer. Fedotowsky returned to the franchise in 2010 as the star of the sixth season of The Bachelorette. After her season, she began working in TV and was soon hired as a reported for E!. The former reality star worked for the network from 2013 to 2015.
She met Gyllenhaal during her first red carpet.
During her Women on Top interview, Fedotowsky explained why she found working for E! News so difficult, and that included difficult celebrities. She said while she normally wouldn't name names, she was willing to put one star on blast.
"Sorry, Jake Gyllenhaal, I'm going to Taylor Swift you right now," Fedotowsky said referring to the singer (supposedly) calling out her actor ex in some of her songs.
"Jake Gyllenhaal shows up for the red carpet—again, my first red carpet for E! News—I'm like, I'm gonna kill it. I'm gonna be so good.' I practiced. I rehearsed all my questions. I was so ready to go," the star explained.
She continued, "He walks up, I'm shaking in my heels—which, I'm horrible in heels—and I say to him, 'Hi, Jake who'd you bring tonight?' Like, for a date, like, 'Who's your date tonight?' He goes, 'Bye bye,' and walks away from me."
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She was brought to tears.
Fedotowsky was so worried about failing to get a real answer from Gyllenhaal that she started to break down.
"I looked back at the camera, my producer, and I started crying," the 38-year-old said. "I'm going to lose my job because I didn't get any of the questions," she was thinking. "He's the star of the film."
Fedotowsky said she then watched Gyllenhaal walk away from another reporter on the press line, who asked a question about his tattoos in the unnamed movie. (It seems like it may have been 2013's Prisoners.) She said that led her to think that Gyllenhaal didn't want to answer personal questions, because he's a "serious actor."
She still thinks he should have been nicer.
Fedotowsky said that she was used to being interviewed and walking red carpets herself from when she was on The Bachelorette, so she knows "how easy it is to be nice."
She explained, "For my question, he could have just been like, 'My mom', or like, 'Wouldn't you like to know?,' or like, 'Nobody,' or 'Next question.' Anything."
Fedotowsky also named the nicest celebrities she encountered.
On the other end of the spectrum, Fedotowsky called out some celebrities she found to be particularly nice when she was working as a correspondent. "Tom Hanks, nicest guy ever," she said. "Kris Jenner, love that woman … All the Kardashians, Kim, they're so kind."
She said that "reality stars in general are so nice," because they want to make headlines and "want to give you the goods."
Fedotowsky also noted that situation her failed interview with Gyllenhaal wasn't the only time she cried after speaking with a celebrity.
"There were multiple times I left interviews just in tears," she said, due to waiting for hours for interviews that didn't happen or not getting the answers she needed. She said of being a red carpet reporter, "It was my—honestly, I think my least favorite job I've ever had. I mean, that's a nice way of saying I hated it."
