How do celebrities respond to criticism in media interviews? The case of an Egyptian TV show

Abstract

The current study examined the realization of the speech act of responding to criticism within the context of televised interviews with celebrities. A total of 146 male and female celebrities’ responses to criticism in a popular Egyptian TV show were transcribed and analyzed. The analysis aimed to develop an adapted model of criticism-response strategies that suit the context of media interviews and to examine the influence of gender on the celebrities’ responses to criticism. In addition to developing the target model, the analysis showed the celebrities’ preference to respond to criticism explicitly through the strategies of disagreement, providing counter-evidence and justifying the speaker’s criticized action while avoiding confrontations. Additionally, the celebrities’ responses did not show much significant differences across gender. The findings are interpreted in light of the existing literature, the influence of genre on the realization of speech acts and relevant theoretical models.

Keywords

• responding to criticism
• speech act
• genre
• media interviews
• criticizing
• celebrities