Ruby Wax on the ‘curse’ of fame, ‘toxic’ Donald Trump and her rival Louis Theroux
Long before Louis Theroux went on his first Weird Weekend, Ruby Wax was chipping away at the shiny coalface of celebrity culture and documenting offbeat US tribes to the delight of the viewing public.
Now the comedian, actress, writer and mental health campaigner says she “can’t get a job on television” and was forced to “reinvent” when her TV career took a nosedive after she turned 50.
Louis Theroux
Wax, who is about to embark on her first tour in four years, told Sky News: “I’m grateful I got to do those shows. It’s a job everybody wants. But after 25 years, you think, What else?”
She goes on: “It’s over when it’s over. It was over early for me”.
Open about her mental health battles over the years, and an ambassador for mental health charities MIND and SANE, Wax admits that the pursuit of fame was an addiction of sorts: “I was so interested in fame… Studying what’s the effect of fame on people. Because it’s fabulous to get in a restaurant using your own name, but it’s also a curse because when they take it from you, it’s like coming off a drug.”
Throughout the 90s and early 2000s Wax grilled A-listers, future world leaders and public figures – holding a mirror up to celebrity culture of the decade.
She captured the zeitgeist with her fearless celebrity interviews, chatting to stars including Pamela Anderson, Madonna, Tom Hanks and the Spice Girls.
And she didn’t just do softball interviews.
More tricky interviewees included Donald Trump (he called Wax obnoxious and kicked her off his private plane, she went on to label it the worst interview she’d ever done); OJ Simpson (Wax had hoped he would confess to the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson on the show; He didn’t, but later called her on April Fool’s day to tell her “I did it” before adding, “April Fool”); Bill Cosby (he play-acted taking a phone call during their interview, comparing chatting with Wax to “talking to an answering machine you can’t fix”, while she later branded his behaviour “psychotic”) and former first lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos too.
Shining a spotlight on the now much talked about topics of celebrity culture and fame, Wax was the first women to front gonzo style documentary interviews and make them a hit in a primetime slot to boot.
Wax on Trump: ‘I hated speaking to him. I found him toxic’
She also did a series looking at American subculture – Ruby’s American Pie – in the late 90s, investigating themes including the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), offbeat religion and porn. Again, all themes in Louis Theroux’s wheelhouse, at around the same time.
But unlike with Theroux, there was no faux-naif front with Wax, she went in full throttle with her brash American approach – which sometimes worked a treat, and other times less so.
On her infamous interview with future president Donald Trump (who was then just a billionaire real estate magnate and presidential hopeful) Wax told Sky News: “I hated speaking to him. I found him toxic.
“I didn’t think I was going to learn anything. I just thought this is a terrible experience, just horrible. And so was Bill Cosby. I didn’t think, ‘I’m going to show the world something’. I just found him repellent, and he frightened me because he is so toxic, and he hated me. So that doesn’t help an interview.”
Trump went on to throw her off his private plane – complete with a gold sink and cushioned bidet. Wax says: “I think I could have handled it better. You don’t see the fear in my eyes, but it doesn’t feel good.”
‘I had to re-invent. I can’t get a job on television’
Despite her own harsh review of some of her interviews, the audience lapped up her no-nonsense approach, and her shows were a hit.
A stalwart of BBC output through the nineties – The Full Wax was followed by Ruby Wax meets…and after a gap of a year or two The Ruby Wax Show followed suit in the early 2000s.
But while Theroux’s shows are on constant re-run, and he’s given this year’s prestigious MacTaggart lecture to industry big wigs at the Edinburgh Television Festival, Wax is largely a stranger to today’s TV schedule.
Her rivalry with the fellow celebrity documentary maker has been well documented, with the pair finally forging a truce of sorts after he interviewed her at end of 2020 as part of his Grounded COVID podcast series.
As for his flourishing career, she says: “I sort of see why Louis carried on, because he played himself and I was playing kind of a character… I turned 50, and that’s against the law. You can only play people who have a terminal disease or are dead when you’re that age. So, I had to re-invent. I can’t get a job on television.”
‘I’m not like Graham Norton’
However, she admits the modern-day celebrity interview is less attractive than in days gone by.
“I wouldn’t really like to do any more interview shows because you can’t get celebrities the way I could. Now, there’s too much PR and they’re too careful.
“In my day, I could interview them for a week, and that was pleasurable. I’m not like Graham Norton, where you can chew ’em out in 15 minutes. I wouldn’t be good at that.”
But Wax says she would have liked a shot at more cerebral shows too, adding: “I would have liked to do Newsnight. I’m really smart.”
Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts
A woman of many talents, Wax is also a classically trained actor (she spent five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company) and was awarded an OBE for her services to mental health in 2015.
Now with a tour about to start – documenting a search for the meaning of life which ended up in a psychiatric ward – a reinvented Wax admits: “I’m always running.”
Unlike many performers who dread a tour, Wax says: “I like living out of a suitcase and I like meeting new people. I think it’s because my parents were refugees and they knew how to decamp within three minutes. And so, I have that in my DNA. I love it.
Wax’s tour – I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was – kicks off on 14 September in Brighton, and runs until late November. The book is out now.
Gregg Wallace has spoken about his sacking from MasterChef after inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC – but insisted he is “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.
Wallace, 60, has apologised after a report, commissioned by the cooking show’s production company Banijay UK, found 45 out of 83 allegations were substantiated.
In an interview with The Sun, he said: “I know I have said things that offended people… I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry.
“I don’t expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don’t think I am a wrong ‘un.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
BBC reputation damaged by ‘serious errors’
MasterChef co-host John Torode also had an allegation that he used an “extremely offensive racist term” upheld, as part of the same investigation.
Torode, who insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident, has not had his contract for the show renewed.
Wallace has now defended Torode, saying: “I’ve known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.
“There is no way that man is a racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve been through.”
Gregg Wallace has defended his former MasterChef co-host John Torode (left). File pic: PA
At one point, Wallace became tearful during the interview when describing the impact of the investigation on his family.
“I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. That is just so, so horrific.”
In respect to the specific allegation of unwanted touching, Wallace denied groping a woman and said that, while he was attempting to flirt with her, he did believe the contact it was consensual.
“She gave me her phone number. I considered that to be intimacy. It was 15 years ago. Me, drunk, at a party, with my hand on a girl’s bum,” he said.
He also accepted he had briefly appeared with a sock on his private parts in front of four colleagues in MasterChef studio. But he said his is not a flasher, and people were either “amused or bemused” but not distressed.
Read more from Sky News:
Actor Micheal Ward charged with rape
Jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine dies
BBC reveals highest-earning stars
On the broader allegations about using inappropriate language, Wallace accepted the criticism and suggested that some of his conduct could be explained by his autism and his background.
“I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a… registered disability. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real.”
He also blamed his former career: “I’m a greengrocer from Peckham. I thrived in Covent Garden’s fruit and veg market. In that environment that is jovial and crude. It is learned behaviour.”
Wallace told the newspaper he is now scared to appear in public: “I go out now in a disguise – a baseball cap and sunglasses, I don’t want people to see me. I’m scared.”
On Wednesday, the BBC confirmed a series of MasterChef filmed last year, before allegations against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode were upheld, will still be broadcast.
Entertainment
Company at heart of Coldplay viral video releases tongue-in-cheek clip – with a big twist
The company at the centre of a viral video at a Coldplay concert has released a tongue-in-cheek clip on social media – featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson”.
Astronomer was thrust into the spotlight after two of the tech firm’s senior executives were filmed embracing on a kiss cam during a gig in Boston.
Andy Byron subsequently resigned as chief executive officer – while the woman in the video, Kristin Cabot, stepped down as chief people officer a few days later.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tech boss resigns after viral Coldplay concert video
Paltrow, who used to be married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, is seen sitting at a desk in the new video uploaded to X – and begins by thanking the public for their interest in Astronomer.
She adds: “I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer.
“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days – and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.”
A question is then typed out on the screen that reads: “OMG, what the actual…”
Before the final word appears, the video cuts back to Paltrow, who goes on to promote some of the services Astronomer offers.
In a subtle nod to the countless column inches the company has attracted, Paltrow adds: “We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation.”
Another question then pops up on screen, which begins to type out: “How is your social media team holding up?”
But before the sentence fully appears, Paltrow abruptly interrupts by declaring that Astronomer has spaces at an upcoming conference in September.
“We’ll now be returning to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers,” she adds at the end of the video.
The marketing stunt is a sign that Astronomer is trying to put a positive spin on the scandal, which sparked feverish speculation online.
After Mr Byron resigned, the company had said in a statement: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
Pete DeJoy, who has taken over as interim CEO, admitted on Monday that the company has faced an “unusual and surreal” amount of attention in recent days.
On LinkedIn, he wrote: “While I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name.”
Top Boy actor Micheal Ward has been charged with two counts of rape and is due to appear in court next month.
Ward, 27, has also been charged with two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault.
The offences relate to one woman and are reported to have taken place in January 2023.
“Our specialist officers continue to support the woman who has come forward – we know investigations of this nature can have a significant impact on those who make reports,” said Detective Superintendent Scott Ware, whose team is leading the Met Police’s investigation.
Ward at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 15 July during a press call for his upcoming film Eddington. Pic: PA
Ward, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, is due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 28 August, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Ward said he denies the charges of rape and sexual assault, adding in a statement: “I recognise that proceedings are now ongoing, and I have full faith that they will lead to my name being cleared.”
In a statement, Catherine Baccas, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London South, said: “We remind all concerned that proceedings against the suspect are active and he has a right to a fair trial.
“It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in anyway prejudice these proceedings.”
Michael Ward has been charged with rape and sexual assault. He is pictured in October 2023. Pic: PA
Ward starred in the popular Netflix series Top Boy as Jamie. He also appeared in films like Blue Story, The Old Guard and Empire of Light.
In 2020, the Jamaican-born actor was awarded the Bafta Rising Star honour in 2020.
Read more from Sky News:
Teenagers jailed for 15 years for machete murder
Home Office threaten asylum seekers with homelessness
He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor Bafta in 2021 for his role as Franklyn in the BBC series Small Axe, and 2022 for his performance as Stephen in Empire of Light.
Ward is also in the upcoming American film Eddington alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal, which is set to be released in the UK next month.
Ward is pictured during the opening night of A View From The Bridge at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London in June 2024. Pic: PA
He has more than a million followers on Instagram and participated in charity events like the Soccer Aid match at Stamford Bridge last year.
Ward gave a reading at the Christmas Eve carol service hosted by the Princess of Wales in 2023.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike