Drew Barrymore says Ashley Graham got ‘the real’ Hugh Grant on the Oscars red carpet

‘You think you’re getting this charming movie star, and what you really get is grumpy Hugh’

Drew Barrymore has explained why she thinks that Ashley Graham got “the real” Hugh Grant during her viral red carpet interview with him before the Oscars.

During a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the TV host discussed Grant’s recent comments about her singing and how she needed a bit more “auto-tune” than him, when they worked together on 2007 musical, Music & Lyrics. More specifically, she acknowledged his claim that he “heard dogs bark better than she sings”.

However, Barrymore noted that she wasn’t offended by this comment, before pointing out his seemingly awkward interview with Graham, where Grant didn’t give many answers to the questions that she was asking.

“If you know Hugh, that is his way of loving you,” she said about his criticism of her voice, before adding: “It’s funny, too, because there’s this thing going around with him and Ashley Graham on the red carpet. And people are like, ‘He’s such a curmudgeon. And she’s so thrown.’ I’m like, ‘No, that is Hugh Grant.’”

The 50 First Dates star continued to explain how the Notting Hill star isn’t necessarily the person that people expect him to be.

“You think you’re getting this charming movie star, and what you really get is grumpy Hugh,” she said. “And then you fall in love with grumpy Hugh.”

She explained that when Grant made those comments about her singing voice, she thought that he was being “absolutely funny” and that he “doesn’t mean one negative thing about” her. She also described and defended his behaviour during his interview with the model.

“The person that Ashley Graham met on that carpet was the real Hugh” she added.

Barrymore tried to resonate with Graham and noted that she didn’t become friends with Grant right away, explaining: “It took me a second, probably like Ashley Graham on the carpet. Like, ‘Oh who am I dealing with.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh no, I love you, I want to love you. You’re not letting me love you.’”

However, she said that as she “got to know him”, she came to a realisation about who Grant was and why she liked him.

“I was like, ‘I do love you. I love you for the real you,’” the Charlie’s Angels star explained. “He is a hilarious, good human being.”

Barrymore isn’t the only star who has defended Grant, after his interview with Graham sparked mixed reactions from fans. Some viewers called the viral Oscars incident the “most uncomfortable thing ever”, while others claimed that Grant “was so rude” during it.

Following the awards ceremony, comedian David Baddiel called out fans on social media who have criticised the actor’s behaviour.

“Those on here having a go at Hugh Grant for being rude on the Oscars red carpet have perhaps mixed up the word rude with the word real,” he tweeted. “Those piling on to him reveal, again, how much social media has become a scolding machine.”

“All Grant does is respond naturally to the questions, but the opportunity is seen to tell him off, and therefore to say, underneath ‘I am a better person than this’ and pat they come,’” he added.

During the viral interview on the red carpet earlier this month, the model continued to ask Grant a series of questions that he didn’t fully answer. The conversation started with Graham asking him if he was excited by the prospect of any certain actors winning. In response, he said: “No, not one in particular.”

After he continued giving short answers to other questions, Graham shook Grant’s hand to wrap the interview up. The actor, who’s known for his sarcasm, then shook his head in confusion as he walked away from the interviewer.

The day after the Oscars, Graham addressed the viral interview when a TMZ reporter asked if she had taken offence to Grant’s responses. In response, she said: “You know what, my mama told me to kill people with kindness, so there you go.”