Prince Andrew's 'Newsnight' Interview Drama Sparks Wave of Jokes, Memes

Prince Andrew's depiction by actor Rufus Sewell in a new Netflix drama has stunned fans on social media after first look images were released and prompted jokes and memes at the prince's expense.

The Diplomat star looks transformed in production stills from Scoop, in which he stars alongside Gillian Anderson who plays journalist Emily Maitlis.

The film tells the story of the royal's car crash interview with BBC Newsnight, after which he was ridiculed for using a claimed medical inability to sweat and a party at Pizza Express to rebut allegations he had sex with a Jeffrey Epstein trafficking victim.

In real life, Virginia Giuffre sued the prince alleging sexual assault in London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2001. Andrew settled out of court for an undisclosed sum while denying liability.

After Netflix released the images, some on X, formerly Twitter, expressed surprise at how much Sewell looked like his subject.

"I wouldn't have thought of Rufus Sewell but - blimey - he looks just right," one comment read. "Could be his creepiest role since Michael Winner's Dirty Weekend."

Another said: "Rufus Sewell must've been sweating under all that make up. Unless he's gone method."

A third read: "The last vestige of my crush on this man has now gone (to confirm my crush on Rufus Sewell. Not Prince Andrew. Even I have a line somewhere)."

Scoop is based on the book Scoops: The BBC's Most Shocking Interviews from Prince Andrew to Steven Seagal by Sam McAlister, a producer depicted in the film by Billie Piper.

In the book, McAlister revealed that Prince Andrew and his private secretary Amanda Thirsk, played by Keeley Hawes, thought the interview had gone well.

"[It was] an interview more shocking than any of us could ever have predicted," she wrote. "I couldn't look at anyone.

"I could barely believe his people hadn't stopped the interview. I would have, despite the consequences.

"'How did you think it went?' I asked the equerry. She beamed. 'Wasn't he wonderful!' she said. I'd expected Amanda Thirsk to be distraught, the prince to look shaken or concerned, but she was smiling and he seemed ebullient.

"And then it hit me: he actually thought it had gone well."

A Netflix synopsis of the film reads: "Inspired by real events, SCOOP is the inside account of the tenacious journalism that landed an earthshattering interview—Prince Andrew's infamous BBC Newsnight appearance.

"From the tension of producer Sam McAlister's high stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace, all the way to Emily Maitlis' jaw dropping, forensic showdown with the Prince, SCOOP takes us inside the story, with the women who would stop at nothing to get it. To get an interview this big, you have to be bold."

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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