bad publicity

A Stone-Faced Jonah Hill Did Not Like Getting Burned By a French TV Presenter, So He Canceled the Rest of His France PR Stops

A helpful PSA for us all: Jonah Hill is not his screen presence. French comedian and TV presenter Ornella Fleury learned that lesson the hard way last week when Hill and Miles Teller appeared on Le Grand Journal to promote War Dogs. The disconnect — helped along handily by a language barrier and the ensuing awkward pauses — was evident almost immediately, as Fleury clearly thought her guest was Jonah Hill, Judd Apatow acting troupe member, when, really, Jonah Hill, guy who wants to be taken seriously, showed up. First, Fleury joked about falling for Hill in This Is the End, saying, “when I saw you get sodomized by a 3-meter tall demon … I told myself, now that’s the man of my dreams.” Hill initially played along, jabbing back: “I heard you get sodomized quite often.” When Fleury tried continuing the bit, however, Hill got right well ticked off.

Fleury joked: “We would meet up in a hotel room at night. We would chat, you’d make me laugh… and then, all of a sudden, you’d bring your friends Leo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. And then you would leave.” Hill’s displeased response? “I’m glad I came on this show to get ridiculed by your local weather girl.” Yeah, it’s safe to assume that something was lost in translation.

While that marked the end of the onscreen tiff, Hill didn’t get over Fleury’s remarks so easily. On Sunday, word came by French news outlet BFMTV that Hill had canceled all of his remaining press appearances in the country. The next day, Fleury apologized for her jokes. Per translation by The Local, she said: “Jonah, the problem is that for 10 years I have lived with you through your films … I really had the impression that I knew you, so last Friday I thought I was just messing around with a friend, but the reality is that we are not friends.” Hill has yet to accept or acknowledge the apology, and all the while Miles Teller sits glumly by.

See Jonah Hill Get Burned By French TV Presenter