Jean-Claude Van Damme has had enough.
Being asked the same questions finally proved too much for the seasoned actor this week when he walked out of a press conference broadcast on Australia’s Sunrise programme.
Van Damme was being interviewed by Australian outlets via video link from Bangkok to promote his speaking tour.
It soon became apparent there are only so many questions about his relationship with Kylie Minogue, Street Fighter and training that one man can take.
“Yes, I like Kylie, I like everybody” he began. “I’m looking to be as natural as possible when I come to Australia. I just want to talk to the people there.”
“Sorry guys, I cannot do this anymore,” Van Damme then huffed. “You are talking to a guy who is very rough, you know - let me talk - it’s good for the people - those questions you’ve been asking me, the press, they’ve been asking me the same questions for the last 25 years: Kylie, ‘How’s your training,’ ‘How’s your this,’ ‘How’s your that?’ So I’m coming to Australia to maybe do something kind of different with the audience. I’m 55 years old.”
Flouncing out of an interview is something of a right of passage for the higher echelons of celebrity and has been done with panache by stars including Robert Downey Jr and Quentin Tarantino, who ended his exchange with the memorable line: “I’m shutting your butt down!”
Before pulling off his mic and leaving the stage, Van Damme had just one question to ask.
“What the f**k is going on with Australia? What the f**k is going on?”
