Robert Pattinson just acknowledged his history of lying in interviews more directly than ever. During a profile published by The New York Times on Wednesday, Pattinson admitted that stories such as seeing a clown die in an explosion during a childhood visit to the circus were completely fabricated. In hindsight, the actor seemed as perplexed by his lying as anyone else.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Pattinson has a reputation for eccentric behavior, especially when it comes to the press. One of the most infamous examples is a 2011 interview on The Today Show where he told Matt Lauer: “The first time I went to see the circus, somebody died. One of the clowns died.” At the time, he was promoting his movie Water for Elephants, which is about circus performers. When asked for more details, Pattinson said: “His little car exploded on him. The joke car exploded on him.” Unsure of how to follow up on this, Lauer moved onto the next question and the whole interaction passed on into memetic legend.
When asked about the clown car over the years, Pattinson has all but admitted it was a lie, but he was very direct when it came up with the NYT. He said that he had finally rewatched the clip recently, and he marveled: “There was absolutely no hesitation at all [in my voice]. I’m like, ‘What on earth? Are you possessed?’”
Pattinson said that he told lies like this primarily because he was bored with the constant interviews and press runs, and he figured he could make them more interesting for everybody. He said that at the time, “the only thing people would ever ask me about was being famous. You go into, like, a fugue state.”
Over the years, Pattinson has admitted that this story and others like it were lies – slowly but surely. When the clown story came up during the press tour for The Batman in 2022, he said: “I have trouble distinguishing fact from fiction… I sort of think it is true! But, it probably isn’t.”
Pattinson’s Other Lies
Pattinson has told plenty of other tall tales in interviews over the years, ranging from white lies to outlandish claims. Some of the highlights include driving away a stalker simply by talking to her about his petty problems for so long that she got bored; working as a hand model for women’s fashion and jewelry; and selling fake drugs made up of sawdust when he was in secondary school.
It sounds like Pattinson is past the fibbing phase of his career – partially because the pressures of celebrity have eased a bit. The actor will be back on screen in the spring in the sci-fi comedy Mickey 17. It is scheduled to debut in theaters on April 18, 2025.
