She’s the no-nonsense host of the ABC current affairs show 7.30.
And after chatting to countless politicians and celebrities over her long career, Sarah Ferguson has revealed one of her worst interview subjects of all time: Ben Affleck.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Sunday Life magazine, the five-time Walkley Award winner revealed the Hollywood actor and director was ‘quite high up on the list’ when it comes to less-than-stellar interviewees.
Ferguson was not impressed with the Batman star’s attitude, saying it felt as though he’d rather be anywhere else.
‘He was just rude, not interested, going through the motions,’ Sarah revealed.
The underwhelming chat occurred back in March 2023 when Ben and co-star Chris Tucker appeared on 7.30 to promote the film Air, which Ben directed, about the origin of the iconic Air Jordan Nike shoes.
During the interview, an unsmiling Affleck gave rambling answers and repeatedly looked off camera, with just four questions that Ferguson asked him actually making it to air.
When Ferguson asked Affleck how the film had evolved from a ‘white guys in business’ film to a story about Michael Jordan’s family, he gave a stumbling response.
‘It happened by my looking at the story and thinking initially, you know, knowing a little bit how these companies work, and knowing about, you know, knowing by instinct it wasn’t only white people who worked at this company who were relevant to the story.
‘And I didn’t want to make that story. Luckily, Michael graciously made himself available to me, and directed me to the three people he felt were principally relevant here… and also he talked about his father and his mother’.
Ferguson’s bombshell comes amid significant turmoil in Affleck’s personal life.
Ben and wife of two years Jennifer Lopez have not been seen together in two months, and sources have told DailyMail.com they have prepared divorce documents to file at a later date.
Sarah meanwhile shares three boys with fellow award-winning journalist Tony Jones – Felix (Tony’s son from a previous relationship), Cosmo and Lucien.
She added that she was over the moon with the fact that Cosmo and Lucien have moved back from Canberra, where they were studying, and were living together in Sydney.
‘It’s so cute, I want to die! The reward of this period of time… I could honestly just cry into our plates,’ she admitted.
‘Having children is lovely and being a working mother is so hard – that period of school and all the micro-anxieties that are there for a mother.
So when they grow up and they’re doing their own washing and they’re okay, they’re good people, it is possible to love them even more.’
Having previously worked as a reporter for SBS current affairs shows Dateline and Insight, as well as a stint on Channel 9’s Sunday, Sarah joined Four Corners in 2008.
In 2015, she replaced Kerry O’Brien as the host of Four Corners, before moving into Leigh Sales’ old chair on 7.30 in 2022.
