The celebrity interview always seems to be dying, struggling against restrictive PR and tired formats. It’s partly why Hot Ones has taken off in such a big way in recent years – it has ingenuity, unguarded guests, and lots of spicy wings. 

Celebrities interviewing themselves though? That doesn’t seem like such a good idea on paper. In an attempt to innovate, the aptly-named Interview Magazine allowed Atlanta creator and star Donald Glover to enter into a Q&A with, well, himself.

What followed was a curious conversation with strikingly frank answers. Glover bemoaned the fact his show is compared to Dave, Lil Dicky’s star vehicle; he was open about having creative differences with Phoebe Waller-Bridge on the Mr. and Mrs. Smith reboot; he said that he understood why fans connect with people like Joe Rogan and Dave Chappelle.

And in one part that was always going to go viral, he compared his Childish Gambino album Because the Internet to the Radiohead classic OK Computer.

“I think part of it is that the questions are usually the same. This way I can get questions I usually don’t get asked,” was how the actor and musician considered the intriguing Q&A method. “I don’t think it’s more contrived than any other interview.”

Fans online, though, weren’t as ecstatic. “Donald Glover interviewing himself is a great example of how the skills of profilers/critics/interviewers are so undervalued,” noted someone on Twitter.”Somehow, this strikes me as not a good idea,” another wrote simply.

“I try to think of editorial from all angles… but I quite literally don’t understand the point of this,” wrote another. “Donald Glover interviewing himself is the most Donald Glover thing imaginable,” joked someone else.

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Are celebrities interviewing themselves the future of the format? It’s difficult to see this catching on, despite Glover’s pretentiousness and openness. Atlanta is still a masterpiece though, Donald, don’t worry about your reputation.

https://twitter.com/angelicabastien/status/1512076262251982857?s=21

https://twitter.com/overdramatique/status/1512077930570035201?s=21

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