30 most shocking moments in late night history
By Jeremy Dick
27. Jay Leno asks Hugh Grant about arrest over prostitute
In June of 1995, up and coming major movie star Hugh Grant was just two weeks away from releasing his first big film Nine Months when he found himself in legal trouble. Police caught him engaging in sexual activity in a public place with Divine Brown, a well-known Hollywood prostitute. Although Grant pleaded no contest, the news exploded and became a hot topic in the headlines at the time.
Already booked for a spot on The Tonight Show to promote the new movie, Grant found himself face to face with Jay Leno in the midst of all the controversy. To Jay’s credit, he chose not to beat around the bush and ignore the obvious, by asking him directly what everyone else watching was wanting to know. To put it bluntly, Leno cut to the chase by asking, “What the hell were you thinking?”
Most celebrities in this situation would come up with a laundry list of excuses for this kind of behavior, or even profess their innocence while encouraging viewers to “wait for all the facts to come out”. Grant handled things in a much more honest manner, refusing to excuse his behavior and fessing up to doing “a bad thing”. If anything, at least his honesty was refreshing.
Next: 26. David Letterman also comes clean