Drew Barrymore is known for getting up close and personal with her guests on her talk show. She often conducts the interviews with her feet pulled up on the couch, leans closely into her guest's space, and grabs their hands. While this is nothing new for the actor and producer, after seeing a clip of Barrymore's interview with Oprah Winfrey, fans are saying she's gone too far. A preview of the chat, which airs in full on Dec. 12, was posted to the show's Instagram account, leading many followers to comment on the host's "cringey" demeanor.
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As reported by Page Six, Barrymore talks to Winfrey in the clip about interacting with people who came to tapings of Oprah, adding that she does the same now that she has her own show.
“Something that I learned about you, because I didn’t know this detail, was that you would spend time with the audience outside of the show you were filming," Barrymore says. But, as evidenced by the comments on Instagram, a lot of people had trouble paying attention to the content of the conversation, because as she speaks, she has Winfrey's hand intertwined with her own and holds it up to just below her face. At the same time, she grasps Winfrey's arm and rubs it with her other hand.
"It is necessary," Winfrey replies about connecting with her fans. "My crew used to be like, ‘Oh my God, how much time is she going to spend talking to that audience?'" While saying this, the 69-year-old shifts in her seat, which some saw as her attempt to distance herself from Barrymore.
As she says that her own talk show crew feels similarly about her, Barrymore drops Winfrey's hand to excitedly express herself. Winfrey continues to gesture as she talks, which some viewers also interpreted as a means of discouraging Barrymore from grabbing her hand again.
On the show's Instagram account, fans commented that Barrymore was being too familiar and touchy. "Drew, everyone doesn’t want their hands held boo," wrote one Instagram user. "Oprahs body language was so clear she wanted her hand back," posted another. Someone else said, "The hand hold and the arm being caressed is past my boundary."Another fan pointed out that "It was like this with Dolly too," referencing Barrymore's November interview with Dolly Parton. In this interview, Barrymore touched Parton's knee and grabbed her hands.
Some people said that Barrymore's behavior makes them not want to watch the show at all. "As much I love Drew..ill stick to watching her in movies. She comes across as over bearing and over the top and that seems fake to me...its all too cringy!!!" posted an Instagram user. Another said, "Not everyone wants to be touched and fondled. I can’t watch her show because most guests look uncomfortable."
But a few commenters defended the 48-year-old host. "I think Drew should be Drew. That’s why it works," wrote one. Another said that perhaps Barrymore and Winfrey have a closer relationship than people realize, writing, "Also, [none] of you are aware of what personal relationship they may have developed over the years but you want to act like you know [to] be negative."
Another clip of Winfrey on the show does show that she touched Barrymore's leg and grabbed her hand of her own accord, too. And on her own Instagram, the star posted about her appearance on the show. Winfrey shared a video of herself giving a rundown of her outfit—entirely purple in honor of the new The Color Purple movie musical, which she produced. Next to the video, she wrote, "Thank you @drewbarrymore for being so kind and welcoming."
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