I Love The Promo!

Unexpected Perk of Anderson Cooper’s Coming Out: Dorky, Awkward Videos with Beyoncé

By Caity Weaver

Now that Anderson Cooper has revealed to the world he's gay and he don't give a damn, he can start giving the people what they really want: awkward videos starring himself and Beyoncé.

Here is a promo for the second season of Cooper's talk show Anderson Live, which will showcase a loosey goosey, no secrets here or anywhere, modern times Anderson.

We say "promo," because that's how the clip is labeled on Anderson Cooper's official website.

It is perhaps better described as "a loose collection of awkward scenes set to kicky music."

At the start of the loose collection of awkward scenes set to kicky music, Beyoncé tries out a comedy bit in which she pretends she didn't know Anderson's show was switching to a live format. Anderson responds, "We are goin' live. You're going to be one of our first guests." Beyoncé stares at him blankly—trapped now, in her funny lie—before the camera cuts away.

In the next shot, Beyoncé, adopting the persona of a pageant parent or leering older neighbor, asks Cooper, "Ohhh, you gonna dance? Gonna laugh? Ahahahaha!"

Cooper answers both questions in the negative, not so much with words, but with nervous sounds and gestures.

Then Beyoncé declares she will teach him how to dance, and the clip just sort of ends.

It's not that either of them are doing anything blatantly wrong here (though one could argue that both are violating several rules of improv: Beyoncé by refusing to deviate from the script she's written in her head, Anderson by coming from a place of "No"); it's more that they're on different rhythms.

Beyoncé looks flawless, because she's Beyoncé and Anderson looks nervous to embarrass himself around Beyoncé, because she's Beyoncé.

The whole thing is charmingly uncomfortable. And it's the kind of unpolished Anderson moment we normally wouldn't get to see until he'd downed a couple cocktails after hours on Watch What Happens Live.

(Seriously, though, this is a terrible promo clip. Who approved this?)

[Anderson Live]

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