Tony Danza is being dragged for his “entitled” behavior while being interviewed at the “New York, New York” Broadway premiere.
In a TikTok video of the Wednesday event, Danza told reporter Rye Myers to “relax a little.”
The “Taxi” alum said, “You’re more excited than we are. Take it easy.”
When Myers called the moment “exciting,” the visibly-exasperated actor replied, “I know, I know, I know. OK.”
The Emmy nominee played ball during one round of questioning, but refused to talk about his “favorite New York City staple food.”
Instead, Danza patronizingly touched Myers’ face and said, “You know what you’ve got to do, buddy, you’ve got to come up with better questions.”
The “Who’s the Boss?” alum subsequently pulled producer Jamie deRoy away, saying, “Come on. Let’s go.”
In Myers’ caption, the reporter clarified that they asked the “same questions” to other “heavy hitters,” including Joel Gray and Lin-Manuel Miranda, and “only Tony Danza replied like this.”
Myers noted, “To say I was blown away, shocked, embarrassed is an understatement.”
“This particular encounter with Mr. Danza was shocking and disappointing to me, as I grew up watching and respecting him,” Myers told Pvnew in a statement Friday. “Like I said in the original TikTok video ‘you can’t please everyone’ and I am ok with that!”
Myers added, “I look forward to covering many more red carpets and sharing my light as ‘Your Broadway & Entertainment Bff!’ with the many celebrities who love talking to me and sharing their light with me and my audience. I hope Mr. Danza will remember to be a little kinder next time.”
TikTok users came to Myers’ defense in the comments, calling him a “class act” for staying “professional” during the awkward interview.
“He’s showed his true colors as a condescending azzhole [sic] but you handled it with humor and grace,” one person wrote. “Bravo to you.”
Another pointed out that Danza had an eponymous talk show from 2004 to 2006 and asked “terrible questions” as the host.
“The touch of my face would have sent me into a fit of rage,” a third user wrote.
Others referring to Danza’s responses as “unkind” and pointed out that “he should be glad people still want to talk to him.”
The Golden Globe nominee is best known for playing Tony Banta on “Taxi” from 1978 to 1983, as well as Tony Micelli on “Who’s the Boss?” for seven seasons afterward.
Last month, “Sense and Sensibility” star Hugh Grant was similarly slammed when he gave short, clipped answers during an Ashley Graham interview on the Oscars 2023 red carpet.
While Grant has yet to address the interaction, the model amicably reacted by telling TMZ, “My mama told me to kill people with kindness.”
