Anthony Anderson under fire over his past remarks to teen Lindsay Lohan, controversial clip sparks backlash

Anthony Anderson has responded to a recent backlash over a resurfaced interview with a 17-year-old Lindsay Lohan in which the actor asks the young star about her dating habits. Earlier this week, a clip from a December 2003 episode of 'The Sharon Osbourne Show' went viral on social media.

In the video, Anthony Anderson was acting as the guest host, while Lindsay stopped by to celebrate the DVD and VHS release of her hit film Freaky Friday. During his interview — a few portions of which are currently circulating online — the actor asks Lohan about her home life, to which she replies that she's moved in with her friend Raven-Symoné, reports Entertainment Weekly.

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Anthony Anderson responds to backlash over Lindsay Lohan clip

In the interview, Anthony Anderson questioned Lindsay Lohan's living arrangement with Raven Symoné, inquiring if a gentleman would also be present in their new place. "Both of you are beautiful women. Both of you are young and have your individual styles," Anderson observed, before Lohan tells him about the differences in decor inside their home.


Then, Anderson, who was 33 at the time of the interview, asks, "What gentlemen will be at the new pad with you and Raven-Symoné?" Lohan replied, "No one. I don't have a boyfriend." Anderson then looks toward the audience and exclaims, "She's single, but looking!"

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The actress, then a minor, quickly clarifies that "I'm illegal, for people that are old." Anderson replied, "Some men like them young. We ain't gonna mention no names, but I'm one of them." He and the audience then laugh.

In a statement obtained by People, a rep for Anderson says, “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.”

How social media reacted

Twitter fans were not pleased with his comments, causing backlash online. After the video surfaced, users on X responded with shock. One wrote, "It just kept getting worse... and worse," while another wrote, "My jaw is still on the floor."

Another user responded to the clip by asking, "Is it a rule that to be successful in Hollywood you have to be a complete creep?"

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Other commenters pointed out that Anderson has been accused of rape in the past, including for alleged behavior in Tennessee in 2004, where Anderson shot the 2005 film Hustle & Flow. However, the actor's representative had denied these allegations in an interview to CNN.

A representative for the actor at the time said the star "absolutely denies the heinous charges that have been made against him," and that "Anthony is a happily married family man who has never been accused of — no less involved in — anything remotely like this, and we are confident that when all the facts come out, he will be completely exonerated." The charges were later dropped, Variety reported.

"In regard to your request for comment regarding previous decades-old allegations, they have been thoroughly investigated and determined to be entirely meritless," Anderson's spokesperson tells EW in a statement. "Any attempt to conflate unsubstantiated allegations with this interview is slanderous."