# Steven Seagals Good Morning Britain Interview

> Steven Seagals Good Morning Britain Interview is a 2017 image-macro meme from a satellite interview where the action star's jet-black hair, dark sunglasses, matching goatee, and Mandarin-collar jacket prompted comparisons to Bond villains and video-game characters.

Steven Seagal's Good Morning Britain Interview is a meme born from a September 2017 satellite interview in which the action star appeared on ITV's morning show from Moscow, looking so dramatically different from his 1990s heyday that Twitter turned his screenshot into an instant joke factory. Viewers zeroed in on his dyed jet-black hair, matching goatee, dark glasses, and Mandarin-collar jacket, spawning a wave of image macros comparing him to Bond villains, Batman antagonists, and badly rendered video game characters.

## Origin
On September 27, 2017, Steven Seagal appeared via satellite from Moscow on ITV's *Good Morning Britain* to discuss the Trump administration and the NFL #TakeAKnee protests[5]. The 65-year-old, who had been granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin in November 2016, rarely made public appearances at this point[1]. During the interview with Piers Morgan, Seagal called the NFL kneeling protests "outrageous" and "disgusting," defended Trump against what he called "enemies within," and dismissed the Russia election interference investigation as "stupid"[4].

But nobody was really talking about his political takes. Within hours, the interview clip hit YouTube and racked up over 88,000 views, reaching #13 on the site's trending list[5]. What caught the internet's eye was how Seagal looked.

- **Platform:** ITV's Good Morning Britain (television), Twitter (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown (community-created from broadcast screenshot); key early posts by @JonRichard, @pattymo, @Lou_LouD, @Comedyterrorist, @dickfundy (Twitter users)
- **Date:** 2017

## Overview
The meme centers on a single broadcast screenshot of Steven Seagal sitting in what appears to be a dimly lit Moscow studio, wearing a black wool jacket buttoned to the throat, black-framed oval glasses, and sporting a dyed black widow's peak haircut with matching goatee[1]. The look was a far cry from the lean action hero of *Under Siege* and *On Deadly Ground*, and the internet wasted no time pointing that out. Most jokes followed a simple formula: slap the screenshot with a caption suggesting Seagal was a fictional villain, a poorly rendered video game NPC, or a "Guess Who?" board game character[2].

## How It Spread
The meme ignited on Twitter almost immediately after the broadcast. One of the earliest viral posts came from user @JonRichard, who grabbed a screenshot and captioned it: "'Batman has until midnight to reveal himself or I will bring Gotham to its knees' – Steven Seagal." That tweet pulled in over 11,000 retweets and 27,000 likes within 24 hours[5].

The villain comparisons kept piling up. @Lou_LouD posted the image with "In today's news: Steven Seagal moved to Russia to complete his transition into a Bond villain," picking up 2,000 retweets and 5,000 likes[5]. @Comedyterrorist went a different route, writing that "Steven Seagal has moved to Russia where he seems to have become a character on the board game 'Guess Who,'" earning 500 retweets and 2,300 likes[2]. @dickfundy placed Seagal alongside *Street Fighter*'s Shadaloo warriors, and @SummerRay asked why he looked "like a badly rendered computer game character from 1996"[1].

The tweet that arguably hit hardest came from @pattymo later that day: "Steven Seagal can't decide who he's angrier at – kneeling NFL players or the wizard who cursed him to gradually turn into an owl." That one pulled 3,800 retweets and 14,000 likes in under 12 hours[5].

The AV Club published a blistering write-up asking "Why the fuck are we still listening to Steven Seagal?" and described him as a "straight-to-DVD human" who looked like "the poorly rendered villain from a Tom Clancy CD-ROM shooter"[3]. The Hollywood Reporter, E! News, Heavy, and The Daily Dot all ran coverage of the Twitter roasting[1]. E! noted that some people also spotted the resemblance between real Seagal and his animated caricature on *South Park*[2].

## How to Use
The format is straightforward:
1. Take the broadcast screenshot of Seagal in his Moscow studio outfit.
2. Add a caption treating him as a fictional villain, obscure board game character, or poorly rendered video game boss.
3. The funnier the specific reference, the better. Bond villains, Batman villains, and *Street Fighter* bosses were the most common angles, but any "menacing figure in a dark room" archetype works.

## Cultural Impact
The interview generated coverage from multiple major entertainment outlets within a single day. The Hollywood Reporter, E! News, The AV Club, Heavy, and The Daily Dot all published articles documenting the Twitter pile-on[1]. The AV Club's piece went beyond the meme to question why media outlets were still booking Seagal as a political commentator, noting his history of dubious claims including that he had "risked his life countless times for the American flag"[3]. The piece pointed out that Seagal had previously claimed to have worked for the CIA, fought the Yakuza, and to be a reincarnated 17th-century Tibetan monk[3].

The incident also drew renewed attention to Seagal's relationship with Putin. Heavy reported that Seagal had described Putin as "one of the great living world leaders" as far back as March 2014 and considered him "a brother"[4]. The meme worked on two levels: the surface-level comedy of a faded action star's bizarre appearance, and the darker absurdity of a self-exiled American celebrity defending both Trump and Putin from a Moscow satellite feed.

## Fun Facts
- Seagal pronounced Putin's name with a noticeable Russian accent during the interview ("Vlad-ee-meer Poo-tin"), which the AV Club transcribed phonetically in their coverage[3].
- The AV Club's article pointed out that Seagal "obviously, *obviously*" wrote his own IMDB biography and once proclaimed himself "one of the world's foremost experts on swords"[3].
- Seagal's appearance on the show was partly to promote his film *Attrition*, in which he plays a character named "Axe" who rescues a "Thai girl with mythical powers"[3].
- The YouTube upload of the interview hit 88,000 views and trended at #13 within its first 24 hours[5].
- Seagal had worked as a reserve deputy sheriff alongside Joe Arpaio on his reality show *Steven Seagal: Lawman*[3].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Steven Seagal's Good Morning Britain Interview?
It's a meme based on a screenshot from Steven Seagal's September 27, 2017 appearance on ITV's *Good Morning Britain*, where his dramatically altered appearance sparked a wave of jokes and image macros on Twitter[5].

### Where did Steven Seagal's Good Morning Britain Interview come from?
The meme originated from the live ITV broadcast on September 27, 2017, where Seagal appeared via satellite from Moscow to discuss Trump and the NFL kneeling controversy[1].

### What does Steven Seagal's Good Morning Britain Interview mean?
The meme is purely about comedy roasting. People use the screenshot to joke that Seagal looks like a movie villain, video game boss, or board game character due to his dyed black hair, dark glasses, and Mandarin-collar jacket[2].

### How do you use Steven Seagal's Good Morning Britain Interview?
Take the broadcast screenshot and add a caption treating Seagal as a fictional villain or absurd character. Bond villain and Batman villain captions were the most popular format[5].

### Is Steven Seagal's Good Morning Britain Interview still popular?
The meme's peak lasted roughly 24-48 hours in late September 2017. It is no longer actively circulated, though the screenshot occasionally resurfaces when Seagal makes headlines[5].

### What was Seagal actually talking about in the interview?
He defended Trump, called the NFL kneeling protests "disgusting," and dismissed the Russia election interference investigation as "stupid," all while sitting in front of a Moscow skyline[4].

### Why was Seagal in Moscow during the interview?
Seagal had been granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin in November 2016 and had relocated to Russia. He had previously described Putin as "one of the great living world leaders"[4].

### What were the most viral tweets from the meme?
@JonRichard's Batman villain tweet (11,000 retweets, 27,000 likes) and @pattymo's owl curse tweet (3,800 retweets, 14,000 likes) were the biggest individual posts[5].

### Which media outlets covered the meme?
The Hollywood Reporter, E! News, The AV Club, Heavy, and The Daily Dot all published articles about the Twitter roasting within 24 hours of the broadcast[1].

### What did the AV Club say about Seagal?
The AV Club published a scathing piece questioning why media still gives Seagal a platform, calling him a "straight-to-DVD human" who looked like a "poorly rendered villain from a Tom Clancy CD-ROM shooter"[3].

## References
1. [Steven Seagal?! Twitter Roasts Actor After Live Russia Interview](<https://www.eonline.com/news/883287/steven-seagal-is-that-you-twitter-roasts-actor-after-live-interview-from-russia>)
2. [Steven Seagal?! Twitter Roasts Actor After Live Russia Interview](<http://www.eonline.com/news/883287/steven-seagal-is-that-you-twitter-roasts-actor-after-live-interview-from-russia>)
3. [Steven Seagal Interview Has Internet Asking Which Villain He Looks](<http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/steven-seagal-interview-has-internet-asking-villain-he-looks-like-1043595>)
4. [Steven Seagal's Good Morning Britain Interview - Know Your Meme](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/steven-seagals-good-morning-britain-interview>)
5. [List of prematurely reported obituaries](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prematurely_reported_obituaries>)
6. [Why the fuck are we still listening to Steven Seagal?](<https://www.avclub.com/why-the-fuck-are-we-still-listening-to-steven-seagal-1818843791>)
7. [WATCH: Steven Seagal Backs Putin, Criticizes NFL Players](<http://heavy.com/entertainment/2017/09/steven-seagal-nfl-knee-video-memes-trump-russia-putin/>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/steven-seagals-good-morning-britain-interview
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