When Hugh Met Divine

Today In History with The Retrospectors

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

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

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