Celebrities who get interviewed on The Howard Stern Show tend to make headlines. The self-proclaimed King of All Media seems to truly be the King of All Interviewers. He has this uncanny ability to make his guests feel comfortable and reveal things they wouldn't otherwise. Kate Beckinsale even said this to the SiriusXM satellite radio host during their October 2021 interview. While Kate knew she was in an environment that could cause her lips to loosen, the Underworld star let herself reveal a secret that's received a ton of press... Her IQ...
While some blamed Howard and his fans for the negative reaction to Kate's high IQ revelation, this couldn't be less accurate. A quick Google search reveals that the star was dragged by the media and various critics on social media for 'bragging' about how smart she was. Howard, on the contrary, was thrilled that Kate was comfortable enough to reveal her 152 IQ with the help of her mother over the phone. On top of this, the legendary radio host was insanely impressed. But Kate didn't care if she impressed anyone. She did, however, deeply dislike all of the negative reactions she received. And an intelligent and empathetic analysis of the situation would allow anyone the chance to admit that she (as well as Howard Stern) did absolutely nothing wrong.
Kate's Brilliant Public Response To The Backlash To Her IQ Revelation
In response to the outlandish articles circulating about her IQ comments on The Howard Stern Show, Kate took to Instagram to respond. Not only was her uncharacteristic response a self-defense, but it also was the most accurate summation of why the articles bashing her for claiming she was smart were so insulting and, frankly, dumb. Most importantly, they did everything to encourage sexism and inherent industry bias... Yeah... it turns out the media and social media commentators aren't as 'woke' as they claim to be. This is especially true of the female writers who targeted Kate's IQ comments, something that Kate alluded to in her Instagram response.
"Are we really jumping on women for answering a question truthfully about their intelligence or education? Are we really still requiring women to dumb themselves down in order not to offend?" Kate wrote on Instagram.
She then went on to answer one specific criticism she was given after saying that her intelligence has held her career back in some form or another.
"When I said it has been a handicap in Hollywood it’s PRECISELY because being female AND having an opinion often has to be quite carefully packaged so as not to be offensive or, as in this case, deliberately twisted into signifying ones perceived superiority or arrogance. Those who spun this into me ‘bragging’ [are] a part of the exact reason I say it was and is a handicap. As a woman truthfully answering a question about my own IQ, I have been the subject of a few articles trying to shame me for it. This is EXACTLY what I mean by a handicap."
Kate, not unlike many women in Hollywood, has experienced her fair share of sexism. This includes being asked to drop a bunch of weight and buff up to play a 1940s wartime nurse. While that was over 20 years ago when she was first becoming a name and making notable movies (both good and bad), the point of her Instagram response was to call out those who took such an issue with her being honest about an IQ test she took. That includes 13 Reasons Why Star Ross Butler who disagreed with Kate's opinion on the matter.
"It’s really important to me that NO percentage of women feel they need to lie or dumb down under ANY circumstances so as not to be a target," Kate continued in her Instagram post before finally calling out the media's over-exaggeration of the importance of anything she shared. "Also, IQ doesn’t actually mean s**t. But stop performatively supporting women while pulling crummy s**t like this."
The Media Clearly Didn't Listen To Kate's Interview With Howard
Anyone who actually listened to the entirety of Howard's nearly two-hour interview with Kate Beckinsale would totally understand the vibe the two were going for. At no point did it seem that Howard was pushing her to brag about her IQ, nor did was Kate actively bragging. In fact, the two were basically inviting listeners in to hear a private conversation between the two industry giants. Both were funny, quick, and totally comfortable with one another and just being open and honest.
After the media backlash happened, Howard addressed the issue on his show with his co-host Robin Quivers. both agreed that the media was twisting the story into something it wasn't. There was no 'bragging', no legitimate issue. It was all absolutely nothing that the media and angry internet trolls made into a scandal.