Matt Wells vs. Donnie Wahlberg
June 19th, 2008
So 6am Monday morning (the day after the MMVAs) I went away for 2 days and didn’t check email. I came back to about 50 emails asking the same question: “Dude, what’s up with you and Donnie Wahlberg?”
I guess a lot of people watched my interview with New Kids on the Block that’s on MuchAXS and a lot of people also heard rumblings of my New Kids encounter. So here it is:
What you do see on AXS is Donnie egging me on a little and trying to make things a little cooler. What you DON’T see is why he was doing that. Let me preface this story by saying I have done close to 1000 interviews since my first on Going Coastal and have NEVER had a problem with anyone, until there was Donnie Wahlberg.
I asked them if after selling 70 million albums (the majority in a time when the industry was SO different), did they walk away from it safely and with a pocketful full of loot?
In my head I was thinking about bands like TLC who sold MILLIONS and went bankrupt…even U2 came back from the Zooropa tour and lost money. Perhaps I should have prefaced the question with that thought because…
Donnie got pissed and asked, “Would you ask the Rolling Stones that question?” and continued to tell me that it’s just because they were young. I was assuming that meant they were not smart with the business - which wasn’t the case - but he was like a bulldog and I didn’t back down which didn’t make things any better. I told him I thought it was a legit question, refused to back down and, well, my face in the remaining moments of the interview tells the rest. I finished the interview because they deserved to have a good one (as any artist who comes through here), and you deserve to see it. But, my friends, I wanted to walk SO FU#$ING BAD.
I don’t want to be a jerk about it, but I will be. At the end of the day, this wasn’t a career making interview for me, nor a highlight, but the following was my thought process before AND after the interview: they will have a successful reunion tour and make a pocketful of loot - just don’t ask Donnie about it if you see him.
Hang tough,
=mw
Posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 11:28 am by Matt Wells and is filed under Celebrities & Pop Culture.
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30 Responses to “Matt Wells vs. Donnie Wahlberg”
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you’re a dick for asking a question like that
he’s a dick for responding that way
it’s really pretty simple.
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What is wrong with asking someone if they were unrightfully taken advantage of by an unforgiving music industry. Teal obviously your a tool… and by tool, I mean dick…
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He’s not a dick for asking that.
I wish more of the hosts had balls like Matt Wells. After watching brainless interviewers like Babel and Miller, Wells is quite refreshing.
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Why isn’t the ENTIRE interview posted for us to see? You talk about Donnie and his attitude and how you have never had a problem until there was “Donnie Wahlberg” but don’t post the ENTIRE clip? What am I missing here? You come and post something like this giving us all your take on the interview but fail to post the ENTIRE interview? That’s pretty shitty if you ask me. Give Donnie some credit here. He might be outspoken and upfront and will call you out if you step over the boundries in your line of questions, but I don’t see him acting like that without good reason. Not a career making interview or highlight? Other would beg to differ. This band sold MORE than 70 million albums worldwide, generated hundreds of millions of dollars in concert revenues, and paved the way for acts like NSYNC and BSB. You should be thanking them for giving you the time of day and for allowing you to interview them. They deserve and have earned respect. It’s a shame someone like you can’t accept the fact that a celebrity didn’t appreciate the “thoughtless” question you asked and called you out on it (on television no less). Maybe next time you will think twice before asking another question like that - you might get a ruder answer than Mr. Wahlberg gave you.
Peace and Donnie love,
A true Donnie and “Blockhead” fan
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Honestly, you shouldn’t ask the question.
Essentially, you are asking if they are doing it for the money, or Donnie might have read it that way, since that has been the biggest criticism of the reformation of the band. And that’s not fair to them.
If you checked out wikipedia for 5 minutes (as inaccurate as it tends to be) to find out that they all are financially stable.
I don’t feel sorry for you, you should have backed off.
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Is he any relation to Mark?
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You asked an effing rude question, and obviously fu@ked with the wrong guy. Best of luck to ya NKOTB. Love ya Donnie…
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mark is donnie’s youngest brother.
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It’s common courtesy moron! Didn’t your Mama ever teach you it was rude to ask people how much they make? I know mine did and I’m betting Donnie’s did too.
I’m sure this wasn’t a fantastic interview for them either. I think you should be glad it was only Donnie in your face.
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Yeah, maybe you shoulda prefaced what could be taken as a LOADED question. What person wants to be asked about their financial situation? HELLO? Is it any of your or our business?
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Why in the world would you ask someone how much money they make? How much money do you make Mr. Wells? I thought the interview was pretty good…now I guess we hear the whole story. I guess uncut doesn’t really mean what it says…maybe it should be “cut to make the interviewer look like less of an a@@”
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>>>Essentially, you are asking if they are doing it for the money, or Donnie might have read it that way, since that has been the biggest criticism of the reformation of the band. And that’s not fair to them.<<<
I agree that might have been the way he took that, which would have set him on edge…too bad we can’t see what happened and judge for ourselves!
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Hey Matt…i thought the question was rude! Why in the world didn’t you keep the question “ABOUT MUSIC”! Did you ask any other group that question? Next time…don’t ask folks about their finances…it’s rude…even i dont like being asked that question and i’m not even a public figure.
I guess you just have to learn from this one buddy!!!
BTW, you definitely dont want to mess with Donnie Wahlberg….wrong guy man! LOL!
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Ok so first Matt doesn’t post clips, he is not the owner of Much nor does he make final calls on what gets aired. Anyone who would assume that is dumb….
Secondly - asking questions about how the music industry chewed them out is totally legit and explores a sensitive time for these individuals. The group took more heat then almost any artist in history and dealt with issues that would give most people a breakdown. If they just wanted a fluff interview then they should have had the PR company tell Matt to ask about ticket sales and being together again. That aside - the group sucks, they are a manufactured fast food version of what music should be. With so much soulful good music, why is it that you people need the media to shove this shit down your throats. It doesn’t make any sense… Get a life, move on, leave the “has beens” in the past and stop consuming music like it is a big mac with extra cheese.
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Ignore the rabid NKOTB fans…You didn’t do anything wrong excpet not preface your question with your thought about the other groups.
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You say: “this wasn’t a career making interview for me, nor a highlight, and this was my thought process before AND after the interview”
You were lucky to even be in the same room with them. Your interviewing skills sucked by the way. They saved that interview from being stupid. It was them that made the interview and not you.
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I think they may be sick of the question honestly. I can’t see why either of you “would not back down” Men create their own problems when they act like that. I’ve heard Danny answer that question and he basically said they were all smart with the money they made, basically, they are all fine. Donnie has also said he wrote the first check to get this thing started. I’m pretty sure that of the five, Joey and Donnie are totally set for life because they’ve had pretty successful careers over the years. I can’t see them going, “let’s get back together cause the other three are broke.” I feel like Matt was really unfair in his post being that they all looked like they were getting along great in the clip. Another radio interviewer in Toronto did the same thing. The interview went great and then she rights a blog saying Joey was totally stuck up and didn’t talk whey in the interview he talked the most. Hidden Agenda’s people. Build them up, tear them down. Just like the old days.
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I personally thought your interview has been one of the best of them, thus far. I’m sorry you had a bad experience with Donnie though. I DO agree that you should’ve prefaced the questions with your examples of TLC, etc. The New Kids aren’t particularly sensitive, but they HAVE taken immense heat from the media (both then and now) and there have been way too many “oh, they’re touring because they’re broke” jokes. So, I get where Donnie’s “bulldog” aggression came from. But he DID seem like he was trying to smooth over the incident… a lot of other artists would not even bother.
But you did remain professional and the interview turned out great. I hope you get a second encounter with them, because they really are great, down to earth guys. Donnie in particular. Keep an open mind…
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I get it. Asking about money can be touchy, but I still think it’s ridiculous that Donnie let his machismo get the best of him in that situation because it makes him seem like he has reason to be defensive.
Before you throw me under the bus people, understand that I, like most NKOTB fans, know the choreography front to back of ‘Step by Step’! I was a fan no doubt, but things like this make me seriously lose respect.
Also, with all the amazing things I’ve seen on MuchMusic growing up, from Professor Griff of PE voicing his misogynistic opinion, to Mary J. Blige losing her sh!t on Larissa Gulka over a question about tattoos, I’m pretty sure the interview not being posted completely ‘uncut’ was not a choice made by Much. I could be wrong but I seriously doubt it.
All that aside, no one is talking about the amazing parts of the interview like when they talk about Eazy-E being in their dressing room! That sh!t is crazy!!! Or when they talk about playing at the Apollo! That stuff is much more interesting than any drama that may have happened behind the scenes. Even Joey seemed happy to be challenged by Mr. Wells, he said it wasn’t your everyday interview, so to me it looks like the only person who may have had a problem is Donnie.
Let’s stop putting so much attention on the negative and take this interview for what it is, pretty damn entertaining! Best NKOTB interview I’ve seen since Arsenio, even without whatever’s been cut out.
In closing…they were given the opportunity to participate in an unorthodox interview and I guess Donnie wasn’t ‘tough’ enough to ‘hang’. Sorry people, I couldn’t resist!
Mr. Wells, my only advice to you is keep up the good work. The only way to recover from an episode like this is to take it ‘Step by Step’… Ok last corny joke, promise.
Peace
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I’m sorry you had a bad experience with the group but seriously, questioning people about their finances is a highly sensitive topic for some. As said by most commenters, this groups has been trashed by the media over and over in the past and it takes balls of steel for them to be reuniting after all that drama. I would have really liked to see the whole interview but I guess that’s not your choice to cut the “uncut” interview. I do hope you interview them again though. If you’ve seen past footage, you’ll notice Donnie was always the one who was most upset about the media wrongfully discrediting them. I actually really like that outspoken part of him. Keeps it real. So sorry if you feel like you’re being bombarded by the loyal fans but AS loyal fans, it’s our job to stick up for them when they’re not around.
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As a big fan of NKOTB, I do agree that it can be seen as a sore spot given the criticism about their credibility in the past and in the present so it shouldn’t be a big surprise if Donnie did get defensive. That being said, I DO think it was a fair question to ask as they were the highest entertainers in 1990-91 and you would hope that they saved and invested wisely instead of filing for bankruptcy like MC Hammer.
So in short…yeah, you should have led with an opening statement on how some big acts didn’t fare so well financially.
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So, let me get this straight. He tries to smooth things over, then you go online and whine about him? Interesting, because I haven’t seen a single blog from him complaining about a rude interviewer who was not considering how a question will be taken before asking it. Sounds like he’s the adult in the situation. Shame there are more tabloid reporters than actual journalists in this world. And to think they came back to the US and Joe posted a blog praising Canada. Whatever you have to do to make yourself look like the victim I suppose. Or, more likely, gain points with the people who hate NKOTB. Either way, bravo!
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One more thing…does this guy know Donnie FINANCED the album…and from what I hear paid for the video shoot as well. He was smart with his money and the other guys were as well. They weren’t your typical “child stars” they actually had their heads firmly placed on their shoulders…grounded, grounded, grounded!!!
Matt you should go back to college and learn how to do YOUR HOMEWORK! Shame on you!
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why post this? you two had a disagreement or whatever, but why even say anything? you are grown ass men. keep the drama to yourself and just give people the interview. THAT is the professional thing to do not come and bad mouth the artist. suck it up dude and stop crying about it! if you would have just explained what happened without the name calling and saying, basically, that this interview meant nothing to you, people wouldn’t be getting pissy. neither one of you should have overreacted. this is what i say to my daughter when she’s whining over something silly, “i have the tiniest little violin and it’s playing the saddest little song, wah wah wah!!
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I wasn’t a fan of NKOTB back then and certainly am not now (their MMVA performance was terrible!) but I agree, you should have prefaced your question with an explanation of your line of thinking, if they are indeed being attacked for their reasons behind this tour. Donnie has a rep for being a douchebag though…did he really compare NKOTB to the Stones? Anyone who says you should feel “lucky” to have interviewed them is refusing to acknowledge how washed up they are.
Matt, I feel sorry for you having to interview manufactured groups like this when there are real artists out there who deserve the attention. So I’m glad you take the time to think up challenging questions that may provoke interesting answers…though in this case, it’s an answer we won’t get to see, unfortunately. We’ve seen how NSync and the like got screwed over by their svengali, it might have been insightful to hear what they have to say on the matter.
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Now I remember that it’s usually the pshyco fans who make people hate a band even more.
Lets be angry at Matt Wells because he told us how the interview went down and seems to be pretty honest about it? That’s so stupid-I’m just happy there is actually a journalist on Much who has the balls to ask real questions. If he was trying to make Donnie look bad and himself look good with this post then why would he say “I didn’t back down which didn’t make it any better” or “i don’t want to be jerk about it but I will.” If his intention was to make himself look flawless he’d probably not talk about what HE did wrong. He flat out tells us he’s being a jerk about saying he didn’t care about this interview…as Im sure the band didn’t care too much for him.
As for the question,it’s totally legit, I have seen a bunch of Matt’s interviews and they are really good, he asks smart questions.
All these post from NKOTB fans (most of them anyway) are just making Matt look better. His style of interviewing doesn’t seem to appeal to people who like New Kids on The Block and if I were Matt, I’d feel pretty great about that.
He didn’t ask if they are touring because they are broke, he was asking about the industry and yes he should have mentioned that to set up the question.
I’d like to see what actually happened but my guess is that the publicist or the label won’t let it be shown. I have watched the interview a few times now and it doesn’t look to me like Donnie is tryin to make things cooler (as Matt says), to me it looks like Donnie is totally f’ing with Matt, but that’s how it goes-Matt finished the interview like a pro and that’s why he has his job. I remember seeing Sebastian Bach walk out on George because he didn’t like a question about 80’s hair metal bands-and HE WAS IN ONE! I think Donnie needs to get his back down, he’s just in New Kids on The Block, not Radiohead.
Well done Matt, I just hope Donnie doesn’t find you and try to start a fight after school, he seems like that type of guy and he’d probably bring his brother and kick your ass ( i think you could take Joey).
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All the comments posted here are all legit opinions and insight. I still however stick with the 3 rules of conversation…..
never talk about..
1)Religion
2)Politics
3)MONEY!!
I realize that the guys have made a decision to be back in the limelight and they should be ready for an attack. There are haters (maybe jealous types) and devoted fans.
I can’t defend either one of them for what happened, even though I am a huge fan of Donnie Wahlberg (for his singing and acting careers). He can hold his own, and he will stand up for himself. Mr Well’s question may have been approached inappropriately but it’s done and dealt with. It doesn’t make me feel any less for Donnie at all. He’s a person just like all of us.
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My first thought on seeing your question was, “Oops. Not a good one.” I took it that you were like, “Ya’ll suckered all those fans and got rich off of ‘em, eh?” wink wink. Before I even saw the response you say Donnie gave, I thought, “Hmm. Donnie’s not gonna like that one.” One thing about Donnie is that he really does truly love his NKOTB fans. He would object to that question on sheer principle. Honestly, it was your mistake for not doing enough research on Donnie’s love affair with his fans…
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NKOTB fans are acting like the bitches they are. Why shouldn’t an interviewer be able to ask whatever questions he wants? Don’t ask for sanitized entertainment. That would only get you a repeat of the Jonas Brothers.
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I thought the whole point of an uncut interview is to show the whole thing, yet we’re not seeing the whole thing on AXS.
I’d love to see it all including Donnie getting pissed. That’s entertainment that we’re not seeing!