Michelle Visage: What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you?

The question

What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I’ve heard it all: too fat, too short, no talent. Those are the things that cut me deep when I was younger, but now they drive me.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 January 2024 source ↗

Others on this question

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Russell Mael

Is that the final mix?

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 May 2025 source ↗

Sharleen Spiteri

Somebody wrote that my voice was more numbing than novocaine.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 May 2024 source ↗

Tom Fletcher

“You’re not in Busted any more.” I successfully auditioned to be in Busted and then a couple of days later I got a phone call to say that I was no longer needed as they were going to keep it as the three of them. But it ended up being OK.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 November 2025 source ↗

Billy Crudup

I was going to a bar with friends and there was a line at the door. I’d been there before and asked the doorman to skip the line. He said, “Oh, I remember you, you were in Almost Famous, weren’t you?” And I said, “Yeah.” And he goes, “Yeah, get back in line.”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 February 2026 source ↗