INTERVIEWING A CELEBRITY is a delicate business. How to keep them happy, but still get the story you want?
Well, Will.i.am has helpfully sorted that out for journalists who come to interview him.
The Voice UK judge and erstwhile leader of the Black Eyed Peas has moved into technology as of late, and Daily Telegraph journalist Harry Wallop went to interview him about his newest creation – a smartwatch that he hopes will rival the Apple Watch.
Wallop shared just one part of a three-page preamble to the interview, entitled ‘Tips for maximising your interview time with Will.I.Am’:
“Your access to The Future is for you alone.” Before you ask if Will.i.am is some sort of Doc Brown, ‘The Future’ is the name of his California offices. *shrugs*
The document goes on to suggest starting with a few warm up queries, asking only one-sentence questions, and avoiding asking things that Will has already answered. Oh, and don’t pitch him any of your business ideas, for god’s sake:
However, in the accompanying interview (which appears to have been pulled off to the I.Am team’s specifications) Wallop writes that Will had no idea the document even existed.
Later, I have dinner with Will and he is utterly charming. He looks both amused and appalled when I tell him about the ‘tips for maximising your time with Will.i.am’ document. “You’re sh*tting me!” he laughs.
Nevertheless, it’s still getting absolutely roasted on Twitter:
