A seemingly innocuous 2019 Golden Globes Facebook Live pre-show interview with This Is Us star Chrissy Metz started trending on Sunday night after numerous outlets reported that Metz had called Brie a “bitch” when she thought her microphone was off.
According to multiple outlets, including Us magazine and TMZ, when one of the hosts asked if she knew Alison Brie, the star of Netflix’s Glow, Metz responded, “She’s such a bitch.” Metz has since forcefully denied this.
If you listen to the clip closely, you can hear Metz say “she’s such a — ” but then her voice is slightly distant from a microphone, saying something that’s not clear. The mic was immediately turned off afterwards.
After the story first broke, Brie seemed confused by the whole scandal. A Vanity Fair reporter tweeted that, when asked about the incident, the actress was just confused. “But why?” Brie reportedly said. “I know her. I saw her on the carpet and I told her how beautiful she looked.”
Shortly after, Metz tweeted that she never called the other actress a bitch.
“It’s terribly unfortunate anyone would think much less run a story that was completely fabricated,” Metz wrote. “I adore Alison and would never say a bad word about her, or anyone! I sure hope she knows my heart.”
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Metz again denied that she said anything about Brie. “I don’t talk like that,” she said. “I would never say anything like that about anyone. I’m gutted.”
“We only follow each other on Instagram,” she continued. “I don’t want to ruin her night. She has a huge night. I’m just so upset.”
At this point, it’s unclear if what was purportedly overheard on the hot mic was the collective imagination of the internet or a candid moment that should have been kept in Metz’s group chat.