It was nice of this journalist to congratulate Frenchman Nicolas Mahut on his French Open win. It wasn’t even close to accurate or a thing someone who had actually watched the match would do, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
Mahut, who had just been eliminated in the first round, reacted with predictable confusion.
MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.
JOURNO: Congratulations.
MAHUT: Congratulations? I lost.
JOURNO: You lost? Okay. So what happened out there?
MAHUT: Are you serious? Did you watch the match?
JOURNO: No, I didn’t. I was told that you won. Sorry.
MAHUT: Questions in French, please.
Oh, zing. The French-only request is a tremendous use of linguistic shade.
This awkwardness is proof positive that there are stupid questions, no matter what people say.