When Hugh Met Divine
<p>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.</p><br><p>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 <em>The Tonight Show</em> in which Jay Leno asked him the question on everybody’s lips: “What were you thinking?”.</p><br><p>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…&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘Hugh Grant arrested with sex worker 20 years ago’ (The Guardian, 2015): <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/from-the-archive-blog/2015/jun/26/hugh-grant-arrest-prostitute-divine-brown-20-1995" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/film/from-the-archive-blog/2015/jun/26/hugh-grant-arrest-prostitute-divine-brown-20-1995</a></p><p>• ‘“What the hell were you thinking?” - How Hugh Grant’s arrest for ‘lewd conduct’ changed the way celebrities say sorry’ (The Independent, 2020):</p><p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/hugh-grant-arrest-divine-brown-sex-worker-nine-months-elizabeth-hurley-a9584341.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/hugh-grant-arrest-divine-brown-sex-worker-nine-months-elizabeth-hurley-a9584341.html</a></p><p>• ‘Hugh Grant on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ (NBC, 1995): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqCbgHM5MqU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqCbgHM5MqU</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Today In History with The Retrospectors
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Show Notes
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):
• ‘Hugh Grant on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ (NBC, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqCbgHM5MqU
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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