Anthony Anderson Responds to Backlash Over Resurfaced Lindsay Lohan Interview: 'The Humor Was in Poor Taste'

Anthony Anderson is responding to viral backlash after a 2003 interview he conducted with then-17-year-old Lindsay Lohan resurfaced on social media The interview originally aired on The Sharon Osbourne Show on December 16, 2003, where Anderson was filling in as guest host. At the time, he was 33 years old and Lohan, fresh off the success of Freaky Friday, was still a minor. In a now-viral clip, Anderson asks the teenage actress about her living situation, prompting her to share that she had moved in with her friend and fellow teen star Raven-Symoné. "Both of you are beautiful women. Both of you are young and have your individual styles," Anderson says, before Lohan describes how each of their rooms is decorated. But the conversation takes a turn when Anderson asks, "What gentlemen will be at the new pad with you and Raven-Symoné?" Lohan replies, "No one. I don't have a boyfriend," to which Anderson turns to the audience and announces, "She's single, but looking!" Lohan quickly clarifies, "I'm illegal, for people that are old." Anderson responds, "Some men like them young. We ain't gonna mention no names, but I'm one of them," prompting laughter from the audience. Later in the segment, as Anderson cuts to a commercial break, and proceeds to puts his arm around Lohan and says, "Right now, we're about to get our freak on," a reference to Lohan's film Freaky Friday. Lohan responds by covering her mouth with her hands. After the clip began circulating online, viewers expressed outrage over the exchange. "It just kept getting worse... and worse," one user posted on X. Another said, "My jaw is still on the floor." "Is it a rule that to be successful in Hollywood you have to be a complete creep?" someone else asked. Others pointed to Anderson's past, noting previous allegations of sexual assault, including a 2004 accusation in Tennessee during the filming of Hustle & Flow. At the time, Anderson's rep told CNN, he "absolutely denies the heinous charges that have been made against him," adding that he is "a happily married family man who has never been accused of -- no less involved in -- anything remotely like this." The charges were later dropped, according to Variety. In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, a spokesperson for Anderson addressed the now-viral interview: "This interview was clearly intended as comedy. He regrets if the humor was in poor taste and maintains the utmost respect for Lindsay. Any implication to the contrary is both inaccurate and potentially defamatory." Addressing the past allegations, the spokesperson added: "In regard to your request for comment regarding previous decades-old allegations, they have been thoroughly investigated and determined to be entirely meritless. Any attempt to conflate unsubstantiated allegations with this interview is slanderous." Lohan, who has been busy on a press tour promoting the Freaky Friday sequel, Freakier Friday, has yet to publicly address the resurfaced clip or comment on Anderson's statement.