Oscars: Why Ashley Graham was in the wrong, not ‘grumpy’ Hugh Grant

There may not have been a slap in the face this year, but the Oscars still generated plenty of buzz when Hugh Grant awkwardly rebuffed Ashley Graham’s attempts to interview him on the champagne carpet.

And now former bachelorette Georgia Love has weighed in on the debate over who was wrong, after the prim British actor, 62, came under fire for openly disdaining the 34-year-old model’s questions.

Georgia, who is a veteran of red-carpet interviews as a former 7News reporter, defended the Four Weddings and One Funeral star, noting that things only went off the rails after Ashely misinterpreted Hugh’s reference to the “party fair.” the vanities”.

In the viral images of the moment, Hugh kept his responses as short as possible after Ashely mistakenly thought his use of the well-known expression was a reference to the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party.

“24 hours later everyone is still talking about Hugh Grant’s boredom and not the fact that Ashely Graham thought ‘it’s a vanity fair’ which meant he was looking forward to the after party,” Georgia wrote on Instagram.

ABC host Ashley began her interview with the question, “What do you like best about coming to the Oscars?”

Hugh responded that the night was ‘fascinating’, adding: ‘All of humanity is here. It’s vanity fair.

Ashley then said, “Oh, it’s all about Vanity Fair,” presumably believing that Grant was talking about the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, which was due to start after the awards.

But it was more likely that he was referring to William Thackeray’s 1848 novel, noted for its depictions of English elite gatherings and gossip.

When pressed by Ashley about who he was most excited to see at the Oscars, Grant quipped, “Um, nobody in particular.”

Fast-forwarding the conversation, he asked the Notting Hill star: “What are you wearing?” Grant offered an insightful: ‘My suit.’

The prim British actor, 62, was criticized for openly disdaining questions from the 34-year-old model.

Ashley went on to ask, ‘What was it like to be in Glass Onion? How much fun is it to film something like that?’

But he was met with a slightly awkward response: “Well, I’m barely on it, I was on it for about three seconds.”

‘It must still have been fun? You had fun, right? Ashley said as she progressed through the chat.

‘Erm…almost,’ the actor replied while looking away.

Viewers at home were embarrassed by the exchange, as they praised Ashley for how she handled the difficult situation and called the timing “the worst” since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 ceremony.

“That made me want to crawl under a pile of chairs,” one person tweeted.

Another added: ‘Ashley Graham deserves an honorary Oscar for putting up with Hugh Grant. Don’t walk on the carpet if you don’t want to talk about the actual event.

A third wrote: “Is Hugh Grant trying to give the most awkward interview possible?”

Another social media user quipped: “I’m going to need that ABC interview with Hugh Grant cut out immediately.” That was art.

Georgia, who is a veteran of red carpet interviews as a former 7News reporter, defended the Four Weddings and a Funeral star, noting that things only went off the rails after Ashely misinterpreted Hugh’s reference to the “fair of the vanities”.