St. Vincent Got An Interview Killed Because She Thought The Questions Were Too “Aggressive”

Singer and songwriter St. Vincent (real name: Annie Erin Clark) apparently has quite the reputation for being a hassle to interview. I don’t mean it’s like trying to wrangle Paula Adbul into a coherent flow of conversation. There have been stories about how St. Vincent is harsh, aloof, and confrontational with people trying to help her promote her projects. And now one writer, Emma Madden, got so screwed over by the artist she had to pull an interview from publication because… well, there’s no real reason why–St. Vincent just didn’t like it that much. I make my friends delete group pictures where they look good and I look just okay for the same reason.

Junkee says that in the past St. Vincent has been called out for her diva-like behavior towards interviewers. GQ‘s Molly Young spoke to her in 2019 and when Molly asked St. Vincent a question, the artist replied very harshly: “Do you like doing this?” Junkee‘s writer, Jared Richards, also once sat down with St. Vincent and described the experience as “intimidating.” So that’s what Emma had to deal with when she talked with the artist about her new upcoming album, Daddy’s Home.

The album title is sort of a wink at the fact that her father was recently released from prison. He went to prison in 2010 for a $43 million “stock manipulation scheme” and was released in 2019. So because St. Vincent’s white-collar criminal dad got out of prison and her album’s title is Daddy’s Home, naturally that’d lead to questions about her dad’s crimes and him being locked up. But that was apparently a no-no, although Emma didn’t realize it at the time. Emma asked St. Vincent’s thoughts about the carceral system and how there were tons of protests against police and talk about abolition. And St. Vincent replied:

“I have so many thoughts and opinions, I don’t presume that my thoughts and opinions are relevant on every subject though. I don’t have that much hubris.”

Which honestly seems like nothing? Seems like a standard non-answer to me, but it was so much more. Emma soon received a message from St. Vincent’s PR team and they asked her not to publish the interview. When Emma asked what the issue was, she was told she had been too “aggressive.” Not sure where the interview was going to be published originally, but Emma has worked for Pitchfork, NY Mag, The Ringer, and Revolver in the past. Emma ended up publishing the article on her own site but then took it down, and so nothing really exists of it anymore except for screenshots:

https://twitter.com/thxdreaming/status/1386746067396538375?s=20

I guess St. Vincent’s song Pay Your Way In Pain is about interviewers having to ask her questions for their job which she is optionally taking part in. I mean come on, hostile interviews are only fun when they get released and give us iconic quotable moments. If an artist wants to be bitchy in interviews I suggest studying up on Diane Sawyer Vs. Whitney Houston, which gave us several iconic lines. Call me when St. Vincent leans in and goes: “Crack is cheap–I make too much money to ever smoke crack.” Now that is how to do confrontational with style!

And really, if she hates interviews so much, she should just stop doing them. Or just make shit up! No pressure if you’re lying and just spinning stories. Jameela Jamil does it all the time! Seems to work for her.

Pic: Instagram