Today In History with The Retrospectors When Hugh Met Divine
Rerun: It was the sex scandal of the year: British rom-com star Hugh Grant procuring the services of hitherto unknown L.A. streetwalker Divine Brown on Sunset Boulevard on 27th June, 1995.
When their in-car liaison went public the following morning (following their arrest for lewd behaviour), Grant embarked upon what has become seen as a textbook ‘apology tour’, culminating in an appearance on The Tonight Show in which Jay Leno asked him the question on everybody’s lips: “What were you thinking?”.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Brown originally thought Grant was a cop, and certainly not a celebrity; question the racial undertone to the press reaction to the incident; and recall how Grant’s appearance was pivotal in securing The Tonight Show’s place ahead of Letterman’s Late Show in the TV ratings for years to come…
Further Reading:
• ‘Hugh Grant arrested with sex worker 20 years ago’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/film/from-the-archive-blog/2015/jun/26/hugh-grant-arrest-prostitute-divine-brown-20-1995
• ‘“What the hell were you thinking?” - How Hugh Grant’s arrest for ‘lewd conduct’ changed the way celebrities say sorry’ (The Independent, 2020):
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/hugh-grant-arrest-divine-brown-sex-worker-nine-months-elizabeth-hurley-a9584341.html
• ‘Hugh Grant on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ (NBC, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqCbgHM5MqU
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‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’
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