Brooke Shields Says 1981 Barbara Walters Interview Was ‘Practically Criminal’
Brooke Shields is reflecting on her controversial 1980s Calvin Klein ad decades later.
On Monday, the supermodel discussed the moment during an interview on the popular podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard.
At the time, Shields was 15 years old and was tapped to star in a series of print and television ads for Calvin Klein’s jeans collection with the infamous tagline: “Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” The ads caused backlash for being deemed too overtly sexual and was banned from several networks. Following the controversy, Shields and her mother sat down with Barbara Walters in 1981.
Shields told Shepard that the Walters sit-down was “practically criminal.”
During the 1981 interview, Walters asked Shields about her body measurements and other personal questions, such as ones about her sexual history and keeping secrets from her mother. Walters also asked the question, “Would you be a mother like your mother?” and brought up the subject of her childhood being stolen.
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Shields told Walters at the time, “I’d rather do this than not do it at all. I’m enjoying this, I think it’s an experience that I would not like to miss.”
“It’s not journalism,” the now 56-year-old added. “They never wanted my answer. They wanted their point of view.”
Shepard said the interview “maddening.”
