Be honest, Hot Ones! After more than one fraudulent announcement earlier this summer, the spicy wing-themed talk show finally challenged Ariana Grande to the gauntlet for what they claimed was their "season finale" a mere three weeks ago. Since then, they've hosted both Donald Duck and today, David Beckham, in episodes that certainly seem like regular, in-season interviews. (Well, Donald was a little bit of a wildcard, but you get the picture.) Did Hot Ones pull a fakeout to put even Beckham's career high plays to shame? We're as confused as his competitors.
Either way, Beckham was as charming as ever while he braved the spice and reflected on both his time on the field and in front of the camera for his Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary, Beckham.
"In the '98 world cup (where Beckham received an infamous red card in a game against Argentina), I hadn't seen a lot of the footage," the soccer star said of watching the series for the first time. "I hadn't seen the manager at the time come out and say what he said (that the loss was Beckham's fault). It was the first time I'd seen it… That was quite shocking for me."
But the experience of creating and watching the documentary wasn't just about reliving his lowest moments—far from it. Both Hot Ones and the Netflix series gave Beckham the opportunity to be the wife guy he truly is. On the former, he said multiple times that Victoria Beckham "crushed it," and gave a little insight into that viral "be honest" moment as well. Director Fisher Stevens was "really not happy" with him, he shared, because he wasn't supposed to be in the house with Victoria at all, much less interrupt her interview when she claimed to have grown up working class.
In the end, though, it led to one of the most rewatched moments of the series, one that could contribute to an Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series win at the Emmys next month. "Beckham, sharply directed by Wes Anderson repertory player Fisher Stevens, is fascinating, carefully crafted, entertaining, and certainly the most stylish of the bunch," The A.V. Club's Tim Lowery wrote in a recent essay rooting for its victory. "It all comes together to paint a fuller portrait of the man many of us thought we knew and, like The Last Dance and the best of this genre, act as a reminder that it’s always more than just a game."
