Drew Barrymore Opens up About Up Close and Personal Interview Style: “I Feel This Magnetic Pull”

Anyone who watches The Drew Barrymore Show knows that Drew Barrymore is not one to stay in her seat during an interview. And after memes of her up close and personal interview style went viral earlier this month, the talk show host gave her perspective on things while appearing on Thursday night’s (April 27) episode of The Tonight Show.

The conversation came up when Jimmy Fallon pulled out a photo of Barrymore sitting criss-crossed on a couch with Brooke Shields during an emotional interview. He joked that the two were “basically spooning,” to which Barrymore replied, “We got much closer than that at certain points too. I’m on my knees, I’m hugging.”

As for why she does this, Barrymore said she feels “this magnetic pull” to her guests.

“My therapist would say, ‘You’re not supposed to be attached to things.’ But Barry, I’m so attached to this. I love doing this show so much,” she said. “I get to learn from people every day. I get to have these incredible conversations that I definitely take something away with. It’s always improving my life, it’s profound, it’s fun, we like to be silly.”

The actress described her daytime talk show as “whiplash comedy” before adding, “That’s life — the heavier it gets, the more you want to laugh.”

Regarding the memes that poke fun at Barrymore oftentimes invading her guests’ personal space (in the most lighthearted way possible), she told Fallon, “I actually am really into this. At first, I was like, ‘Oh is this a good thing? I can’t tell.’ And then I was like, ‘No, this is awesome! It’s so much fun.'”

Elsewhere in the episode, Barrymore — who grew up being on the other side of interviews — opened up about why she chose the fun and oftentimes goofy format for her show.

“I just wanted to try and sort of think about what I felt like my whole life and how I’d be so excited if someone asked me a different question or there was good energy in the room,” she said. “Or if it didn’t feel like I’m sitting here asking you a question but I’m not gonna reveal anything about myself. I think I’ve indexed in the complete opposite extreme.”

The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.