About the Robert Smith's answer to Carrie Keagan everyone's talking about

[dsanchez]

Context

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=houFuiYrEi0

Some reactions

Keep seeing this in my timeline, and it's so cool and funny, but then I keep thinking about how any woman who did this would be considered such an ungrateful ****. https://t.co/LkTr0Todya

— Tracey Thorn (@tracey_thorn) March 31, 2019

Robert smith is my hero ! Sorry - but I haven't laughed so much in months ! 😜 Bri https://t.co/Yl9xDVFWBp

— Dr. Brian May (@DrBrianMay) March 31, 2019

And just today in The Guardian, a journalist wrote this article: Dear Robert Smith – spare a thought for us poor interviewers.

My personal opinion is that the video has been taken out of context, because people has edited just the part:

Carrie Keagan: Are you are as excited as I am?
Robert Smith: By the sounds of it, no

which indeed makes look Robert as a complete ass

However, those who saw the full video saw a pretty normal conversation, plus those who know Robert, are not surprised at all by his answer. After all, the reason why he made music was not because of an award (pretty obvious!). He clearly stated that in the interview: "[been inducted to the RHOF] is not something that was part of the big plan"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiplxW8QZ5Q

Besides this, I think she was genuinely excited because she indeed likes The Cure very much! If you watched the full red carpet, you would see she did not show THAT excitement to other artists. Previous to the event, she also said:

I've been a Cure fan for, like, my whole life, so when I meet Robert Smith I'm just gonna lose my mind

Besides this, this was a red carpet event and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a Hollywood alike event, so what was people expecting to see?

What I don't like about this whole thing is that I see lots of people jumping to judge the interviewer without even knowing her! I searched a few interviews with her and read about her and I think she knows her job very well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1RrE5HZsPs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGhMC0y-E4E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMTsvL8-rVY

[chemicaloverload]

I think people need to chill the f*ck out and stop being hyper analytical about a f*cking interview? Shits not been done under caution and is likely to be used in court. Its two people, from different sides of the world, nothing more, nothing less.

[tanyasmith]

Chemicaloverload I completely get your sentiment. The quote by Eleanor Roosevelt has popped into my mind in all this: "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people." That being said, I also think that people are discussing social norms and questioning them. We're in times (have been before, too) where lots of changes are happening and social norms that were once acceptable are being analyzed and changed, such as men grabbing women's butts in public, women using their sexualities to coerce men to do things they don't want to, and a whole bunch of other stuff that relates to gender identity, sexuality, and equality. I don't support jumping on the bandwagon, don't think it was particularly funny that Robert blew off the introducer in the first moment, but I do respect that he was setting a boundary with her and appreciate that he gave the fans five minutes of words to chew on (that he's coming out again in general to talk to fans)  even though the red carpet is not really his thing.

[MeltingMan]

which indeed makes look Robert as a complete ass

Carrie acted, for my taste, very professional and Robert himself sorted it out after ten
or fifteen seconds. My conclusion: a 'normal' interview apart from the beginning. 

[word_on_a_wing]

It surprised me to see it snowball online, but my understanding is it's because of RS's humorous response that makes for a funny moment. Any negativity towards the interviewer is a bit uncalled for ...don't we all have foot-in-mouth moments like that sometimes? 

and talking of RS interviews I think this one takes the prize...
https://youtu.be/Xo-tST44cC0

[dsanchez]

Social media sort of pushes people to judge people... it gives everyone a voice, which is good and bad (cause there are is much stupidity in the world). In the end, those who criticize (the masses in Twitter and Facebook) the journalist don't know her career and those who criticize Robert (e.g. the journalist in The Guardian) don't know his career either. This is why this went unnoticed here at curefans.com at first, because Bob's reaction does not surprise to anyone in this forum.

[dsanchez]

I think people need to chill the f*** out and stop being hyper analytical about a f****** interview?

you are right. the true in all is that I had more time today than usually, so I was writing all this first world problem stuff

[tanyasmith]

This all makes me realize I have gotten way too into The Cure again...I walked away from all this years ago. I love Robert Smith and The Cure and stand for them. I'm so happy that Robert Smith is talking to the fans again. It's been a long time. Also great to see new pictures of Mary. I think seeing her face brought me back to reality a bit, to understanding that The Cure is the art, but their personal lives just ordinary.

[Ulrich]

Carrie acted, for my taste, very professional ...

Well, she seems a little over-excited, hence Robert's reply! 

[chemicaloverload]

I think people need to chill the f*** out and stop being hyper analytical about a f****** interview?

you are right. the true in all is that I had more time today than usually, so I was writing all this first world problem stuff

I wasn't referring to you. If I was, I would of said David needs to chill the f*ck out 

[chemicaloverload]

Also, that Guardian article was written by a crank. A journalist, in a privileged position, complaining about the privileged people they interview   

[MeltingMan]

Well, she seems a little over-excited, hence Robert's reply! 

Yes, indeed. I think she did her best in a bumpy situation, however. 

[Ulrich]

Yes, indeed. I think she did her best in a bumpy situation, however. 

True, the way she handled it after Robert's unexpected reply was professional indeed. 

[tanyasmith]

If we're talking about professionalism, is it really that professional that she begged to sit on his guitar while he played? He gave her a look that said "why would you even ask such a thing?" but replied something of the nature "it would be uncomfortable." Then she pressed on "after the show?" He appeased with an "Ok" or "alright." I've seen her other stuff and she's pretty funny, like the chapter of her book "F*ck You, Grandma," but she's just a case of rebelling from a conservative upbringing. She thinks she's so cool because she's heard of the singles album Japanese Whispers, which in America was quite popular among teens in High School, although I've heard not as well known in other parts of the world. I don't know why Japanese Whispers would be any real Cure fan's favorite album. It only has 6 songs (3 of the Cure's most well known pop songs) and definitely not their best songs, although Lovecats is one of my favorites. I wonder why this ordinary interview has exploded on social media. It makes me think there's something important going on in terms of change.

[tanyasmith]

And a comment from somebody on Penny Anderson's article in the Guardian:

"The interviewer seemed to be treating Robert Smith like he was a 19 year old who just got his first record deal, not a 59 year old whose induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a mere formality after a successful career. The problem was not Smith's attitude but an interview style that was totally inappropriate for the situation."