14 Times Celebs Defended Their Friends From Backlash, Criticism, And Scandals In Interviews

Typically, celebrities use interviews to talk about themselves and their projects. Sometimes, however, they get asked about their famous friends and peers — especially when someone they know is the subject of backlash.

Here are 14 times celebs defended each other from criticism in interviews:

1.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: After calling her movie Knocked Up "a little sexist" and pulling herself out of the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama race because she "did not feel that [she] was given the material this season [on Grey's Anatomy] to warrant an Emmy nomination," Katherine Heigl was branded as "difficult to work with." The hit to her reputation harmed her acting career.

THE DEFENSE: On the Chicks in the Office podcast, Katherine's Life as We Know It and New Year's Eve costar Josh Duhamel used a question about his favorite onscreen kiss to instead praise the talents of his female costar. "I love all the girls I've worked with. Katie Heigl gets a bad rap, but she's awesome. She's great."

You can watch the full interview here, with this part starting at the 25:30 mark:

2.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: Halle Bailey's casting as Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid was met with some racist backlash.

THE DEFENSE: Addressing the backlash, her costar Jonah Hauer-King, who played Prince Eric, told Square Mile, "I was just blown away by her. I was so impressed that she deals with everything with such graciousness and elegance. [The negative reactions] became more and more ridiculous the more I worked with her, the more I realized how incredible she was and how born she was for the role."

3.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: Similarly, Zendaya's casting as MJ in Spider-Man: Homecoming was met with racist criticism.

THE DEFENSE: Her costar Tom Holland, who played Spider-Man, told Global Grind, "The thing is with Zendaya, she knows that, from being on set with her, everyone is always complimenting everyone. Everyone is so loving here. What I love about working for Marvel is how welcoming and kind everyone is. She has such a large following on Instagram, and the majority of those people are all for her and all love her. I feel like our generation of people, are moving on past this whole idea you can't cast someone who is not of the right race of a character and stuff, and I really think we're breaking through and changing all of that."

He continued, "Z is perfect for it. She's so powerful and so strong willed, and it's not going to shake her at all."

4.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: Grace Van Dien only played Chrissy Cunningham on one episode of Stranger Things, but some viewers harassed her online over her chemistry with Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson.

THE DEFENSE: During a Showmasters' London Comic Con Q&A, Joseph was asked for his perspective on the harassment Grace received. Calling the situation "awful," he replied, "I was talking to her about it. The internet is a very unforgiving place. It's a place where people can show a lot of support, or where people can rally around hatred and misinformation."

He continued, "It's indicative of where we are culturally — just through association she was getting lambasted. It's disgusting. I don't know what to say other than it sucks."

5.THE CONTEXT AND CRITICSM: In 2016, Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston's short-lived relationship was widely accused of being a "PR stunt."

THE DEFENSE: The hosts of Australia's Kyle & Jackie O radio show asked Kris Jenner if she thought the relationship was a PR stunt. She replied, "I would doubt that. I don't know any of the details about her relationship or any of that, but she's lovely, and I'm sure just like anybody else, when you date somebody in this town, everything becomes a photo shoot and there are people following you around and taking pictures. I think that only Taylor and whoever she's with knows what's going on in that relationship."

She continued, "Like anybody else, it's just like my girls, I want everybody to find whatever happiness that makes them happy. I think when you're young and you're dating and you have a very public life, it's got to be really hard."

6.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: In 2009, the Mirror posted pictures allegedly showing Daniel Radcliffe smoking weed. He denied the claims but still got backlash for them.

THE DEFENSE: His Harry Potter costar Tom Felton reportedly told Metro, "Obviously, Daniel and Emma Watson are under more pressure to keep a squeaky-clean image. When the media fabricates stories, I don't think it’s really fair on those poor guys."

He continued, "He did ring me last week. He's a trouper, he's doing his best. I just reassured him that the vast majority of people are on his side."

7.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: Since Brie Larson was cast as the titular lead in Captain Marvel, she's been subjected to online harassment from fans who are against the idea of a female superhero getting her own movie. For example, they purposefully review-bombed the film.

THE DEFENSE: When Rolling Stone asked her longtime friend and Marvel costar Samuel L. Jackson about the hate she receives from "the more sexist side of Marvel’s fanbase," he replied, "Brie's a stronger person than people give her credit for... She's not going to let any of that stuff destroy her. These incel dudes who hate strong women, or the fact that she's a feminist who has an opinion and expressed it? Everybody wants people to be who they want them to be."

He concluded, "She is who she is, and she’s genuinely that."

8.THE CONTEXT AND CRITICISM: In 2014, a version of Britney Spears's "Alien" without auto-tune leaked, leading to intense criticism of her unedited vocals.

THE DEFENSE: On Watch What Happens Live, her Crossroads costar Zoe Saldaña refused to join in on the Britney bashing. Instead, she pointed out how widespread the use of auto-tune is in the music industry.

Watch the full clip below:

9.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: In 2021, Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for releasing Black Widow on Disney+ the same day it hit theaters, which violated their previous agreement that promised an exclusive theatrical release. The simultaneously release reportedly cost her $50 million.

THE DEFENSE: Writing Scarlett's profile for Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2021, Jamie Lee Curtis said, "I recently watched her own the screen as the Black Widow, who exacts revenge on a powerful figure who manipulates (emphasis on man) women to fight for him. And then I saw her brilliant response to a real-life manipulation (same emphasis), when she filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the studio, alleging its decision to release the film simultaneously in theaters and on streaming cost her substantial losses in pay."

10.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: In 2014, Jennifer Lawrence was unfairly at the center of a scandal when her nude photos were leaked and shared without her consent.

THE DEFENSE: In an interview with ET Canada, her The Hunger Games costar Josh Hutcherson called out how "unfair" the situation was.

Watch the full clip below:

11.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: When Kit Connor was cast as Nick Nelson, a bisexual teen, in Heartstopper, he hadn't yet spoken publicly about his sexuality. However, some fans accused him of "gaybaiting," which eventually forced him to come out on Twitter.

THE DEFENSE: Olivia Colman, who plays his mom on the show, told Variety, "I am so proud of him, but I am not proud of how people bullied him. I think people should be allowed to have their own journey."

She continued, "But I'm incredibly proud of him as a young man to deal with all of that and be in the spotlight. It's unfair. But he's amazing. He's a very beautiful human being."

12.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: In early 2022, some Outlander fans got angry with Caitríona Balfe for opting to attend the Season 6 premiere virtually rather than in person (a decision she made because she was a new mom).

THE DEFENSE: At the premiere, her costar Sam Heughan spoke out in support of her decision, telling Hello!, "Cait's in America. She's just had a child, and right now, with everything going on in the world, we're just glad she can be a part of it virtually."

13.THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: When Chris Pratt was announced as the voice of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, he was on the receiving end of plenty of jokes. Then, he faced even more backlash when the trailer revealed he didn't mimic the character's iconic voice.

THE DEFENSE: Sticking up for Chris's "more interesting and updated" interpretation of Mario, his costar Khary Payton told Insider, "I actually think that he's doing kind of like this New York, Italian guy — like a cousin of The Sopranos or something, which, I think, is kind of a fun take on it rather than being, 'It's a me, a Mario.'"

14.And finally, THE CRITICISM AND CONTEXT: In a joint interview, AsiaOne asked Xóchitl Gómez, whose character, America Chavez, is a lesbian and has two moms, how she felt about Disney refusing to comply with Saudi Arabian censors by removing "LGBTQ references" from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She replied, "I'm just so happy that Marvel has stuck to it and kept the scene in there... Although, yes, my name may be circled within hate and stuff, but it's okay."

THE DEFENSE: Her costar Benedict Wong cut in, "It's not okay. It's not okay. We have to all collectively understand that...she auditioned aged 13, and she joined us aged 14, one of the youngest actors to join the MCU of a film of that magnitude... There's a real level of shame for all those trolls that are cowards not to actually put their face on, and they should feel a deep shame of what they're doing."

He added, "It's sad that fans in that country won't get to see this as yet. But all we are doing is radiating representation, voicing the voiceless. And that's all that we can do — represent people so that they can be seen."