NEED TO KNOW
Anthony Anderson is responding after a clip of him making inappropriate comments to a then-underage Lindsay Lohan went viral.
The clip in question came from a 2003 episode of The Sharon Osbourne Show that aired on Dec. 16 of that year.
Anderson, who was 33 at the time and is now 54, was the guest host. Meanwhile, Lohan, who was 17 at the time and is now 39, was promoting Freaky Friday, which had just been released on DVD.
In response to the backlash, a spokesperson for Anderson tells PEOPLE: “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.”
Entertainment Weekly was the first to obtain Anderson’s statement.
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The viral clip featured Anderson making several inappropriate comments to Lohan over the course of their nearly six-and-a-half-minute interview.
The clip began with Anderson and Lohan greeting each other in the typical talk-show fashion, before Anderson joked that Lohan kissed him on the lips with tongue, which she vehemently denied.
Following that initial moment, Anderson told Lohan that he and his children loved watching her in 1998’s The Parent Trap, and she thanked him for the compliment.
Anderson then put his hand on Lohan’s knee and told her, “You’ve grown up a whole lot since then.”
Later in the interview, Lohan told Anderson that she and her friend Raven-Symoné had recently gotten a place together in Los Angeles.
Anderson said both Lohan and Raven-Symoné were “beautiful” young women and asked her, “What gentlemen will be at the new pad?”
“No one,” she answered, emphasizing that she doesn’t have a boyfriend.
“Hmm, she’s single but looking!” Anderson responded. Lohan quickly pointed out, “But I’m illegal for people that are old.”
“Well, you know, some men like ’em young. We ain’t gonna mention no names, but, you know, I’m one of ’em,” Anderson replied, laughing.
With only about a minute left of the interview, Anderson asked Lohan about the projects she had on the horizon: her back-to-back 2004 films, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Mean Girls.
Anderson has been accused of assault and rape in the past.
The actor, along with an assistant director, were accused of raping an extra on the set of 2004’s Hustle & Flow, but charges against them were later dropped, according to Variety.
PEOPLE reported in 2018 that Anderson was being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department for an alleged sexual assault. Later that year, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against him.
Anderson “unequivocally” disputed the 2018 allegations at the time in a statement to PEOPLE.
“It’s unfortunate that anyone can file a police report whether it is true or false,” his rep said. “The authorities have not contacted Anthony or any of his representatives about this matter. Anthony unequivocally disputes the claim.”
