The most ICONIC interview of our time: Why are you Gae!

When searching online for the most iconic interview of all time, the results often point to the 1993 interview between Michael Jackson and Oprah Winfrey. When Oprah sat down with the ‘King of Pop,’ it became the most-watched television interview in history. Approximately 62 million Americans watched it live, with an additional 28 million viewers tuning in from around the world.

However, I would argue that the best interview of our time, at least for my generation, is the one that took place in Uganda between Simon Kagwa Njala of Uganda’s NBS Television and LGBTQI activist Julian Pepe Onzima. What is most striking is that this interview, which occurred in 2012, continues to make rounds on social media to this day.

The interview is entertaining, funny, and clever all at once. While it would likely be canceled by today’s cancel culture and not be allowed on most television networks, this interview remains iconic for defying superficial television theatrics. It felt genuine, like a normal conversation outside of TV, being both human and blunt. In the modern day, it’s rare to have an honest discussion about societal issues, as we’ve perhaps become too thin-skinned and easily offended.