People Have Strong Reactions To 12-Year-Old Kirsten Dunst Being Interviewed About Kissing Brad Pitt When He Was 31
The cultural attitude towards girls' autonomy in Hollywood has changed since 1994.
Kirsten Dunst / Brad Pitt via Warner Bros. The podcast “No More Late Fees” is hosted by two women named Jackie and Danielle, who describe themselves as “two ex-Blockbuster employees and BFFs reliving the late 90s and early 2000s.” The podcast and its related TikTok account are time capsules, capturing nostalgia for that bygone era while questioning why certain problematic norms were widely accepted in pop culture.
Recently, No More Late Fees called out the 1994 movie “Interview With A Vampire,” focusing on how a young Kirsten Dunst’s discomfort with one particular scene was minimized by the adults around her.
People are expressing strong reactions to clips of 12-year-old Kirsten Dunst being interviewed about kissing Brad Pitt when he was 31.
No More Late Fees shared a TikTok of an interview Dunst gave during the press circuit for the 1994 movie “Little Women,” which was released within the same year as “Interview With A Vampire.” In the clip, the interviewer focused on the infamous scene in “Interview With A Vampire,” in which Dunst and Pitt kiss.
She asked Dunst, “Did you really hate kissing Brad Pitt?”
Dunst gave a firm and honest answer that was immediately discredited. She started, “Yeah, because, you know what...”
She paused, as if to consider the best way to respond, before continuing, “I love Brad, he’s so nice. It was just like, it feels awkward. I mean, I’m 12, and he’s like, 31 now, it’s like, he’s a man, so why would I enjoy kissing him?”
Dunst looked at her “Little Women” co-star, Samantha Mathis, who sat beside her and broke into uneasy laughter. The interviewer then asked, “All right, Samantha, how about if you had a chance to kiss Brad Pitt?”
“Oh, I don’t think I’d turn it down,” Mathis exclaimed. “He’s a wonderful actor, too, though. But I understand, maybe you’re not into kissing boys yet, so I can relate.”
Dunst responded, “Well, especially ‘cause Brad is 31. He’s not exactly a boy.” The interviewer kept pushing the issue, asking, “If he were 15, it might be better?” Dunst shrugged and responded, “Yeah.”
The clip reveals that so many aspects of the 90s and 2000s that were framed as acceptable were anything but normal, especially in regard to girls having bodily autonomy.
Responses to the clip expressed disgust at how Dunst was treated, ranging from emoji puke faces to outcries of how deeply wrong it was for the adults to react to Dunst as they did. As one comment beneath the post stated, “This is what I mean when I say the 90s were different.”
In the clip, Dunst continued to advocate for herself, despite the reaction she received from the grown-ups surrounding her. She firmly restated how uncomfortable she had felt during the kiss scene while pointing out the clear fact that the 19-year-age gap between herself and Pitt wasn’t something to celebrate.
A second TikTok that No More Late Fees posted, showed Brad Pitt being interviewed by Entertainment Tonight. In that clip, a 31-year-old Pitt offered his own opinion on the kiss scene, highlighting the harm that’s perpetuated by the film industry’s attitude towards young girls.
With his hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and a manicured goatee, Pitt described Dunst, stating, “In comes this little woman, you know, who ran circles around most of the adults on set.”
The interviewer replied, “She said ‘The hardest part was kissing you.’” Pitt chuckled, saying, “Listen, it was no easy road for me either,” as the interviewer laughed. Pitt continued, “I mean, my dad’s gonna watch this movie.”
Pitt's answer centered his own experience on set, while disregarding the very real discomfort that Dunst expressed.
Someone noted that Pitt was dating Juliette Lewis at the time of that interview. Their timeline was slightly off — Pitt dated Lewis from 1990 to 1993 when he was 27 and Lewis was 17. Yet the significance of an adult man dating a teen girl remains, especially in light of how he saw Dunst — not as the child she was, instead emphasizing a womanhood she hadn't reached.
There are marked differences in the public reaction to Dunst’s distress from the 90s to now. Dunst’s clearly-stated feelings were entirely glossed over in 1994, highlighting how little emphasis society placed on girls being the owners of their own bodies back then.
In the years that have followed the #MeToo Movement, there’s been a cultural shift.
Women who spent their girlhood steeped in the accepted misogyny of the 90s and 2000s are standing up and clapping back. We’re no longer quiet about the sheer toxicity that thrived in that era.
Reframing those norms as things that were never actually okay is part of ensuring a safer girlhood for future generations and paving a path toward healing.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.