The Vanity Fair Oscars Party on Mar. 3 welcomed all celebrities — from actors and musicians to influencers and reality TV faves. While it’s not rare for interviews from this event to attract discourse, it *is* rare for an interview to make fans everywhere cringe. One from the Vanity Fair Oscars Party that had fans particularly annoyed was between comedian Hannah Berner and rap royalty Megan The Stallion. The interview sparked a huge discussion online, and on Mar. 6, Berner addressed the comment she made on Instagram.
While talking on the red carpet, Berner told Megan, “When I want to fight someone, I listen to your music.” This had fans everywhere confused and angry. Megan quickly responded to Berner, saying, “You want to throw that fighting sh*t out the window, you want to get cute and be a bad b*tch.”
Of course, fans didn’t waste time flooding the comments with their thoughts and frustrations as many thought Berner’s comment was uncalled for. Seeing as Meg promotes self-confidence and pride (not at all violence) through her music, fans didn’t take Berner’s comment lightly. Instead, they quickly called her out online for making this statement about a Black woman’s music.
“Very microaggressive. Megs music isn’t about fighting and the fangirling is a spectacle. Please hire real interviewers that know how to talk to black women as PEOPLE and not characters,” one person wrote. “Meg was like ‘Fight people? Girl, I make Bad Bih music. Do you see these nails? We don’t fight,” someone else commented. “Talking over her, unable to keep their composure, calling her violent when she never raps about violence (& is actually a victim of violence), hmmm” someone else wrote. Needless to say, fans are *not* here for Berner’s interview.
In an Instagram story post shared on Mar. 6, Berner expressed her regret with what she told Megan The Stallion on the red carpet. “Interviewing Megan Thee Stallion was a dream of mine. I love her music and it’s my go-to whenever I need to boost my confidence before a show,” she wrote. “Looking back at the interview, I wish I used any other word except ‘fight’ to describe how her songs impact me.”
Berner continued, “It was a careless choice of words and though there was no ill intent, I recognize and acknowledge that what I said has a deeper meaning and I am so sorry to Megan. I appreciate everyone who brought this to my attention.”
Before Berner addressed her comment on IG, many claimed she had misconstrued the meaning of Megan’s music, which can be vulnerable but is all about self-confidence and works to reinforce the importance of being your own personal hype woman. Megan’s songs like “Cobra” are vulnerable and share how, despite her success, she can still struggle with her mental health and other personal issues.
Fans flooded social media to share their reactions to Berner’s comment, reinforcing the important topics of Megan’s music while advocating for professional journalists to appear on red carpets instead of influencers.
I’m happy Berner addressed this situation but if I were in her shoes, I would really think about what to say to celebrities the next time I interview them.