Brooke Shields says it was 'really unconscionable' that Barbara Walters asked about her body measurements on television when she was just 15

• Brooke Shields reflected on being asked invasive questions about her body by Barbara Walters at 15.
• On "The Kelly Clarkson Show," she said that the way Walters treated her was "really unconscionable"

With the release of her new Hulu documentary, model and actor Brooke Shields has been reflecting on the way she was treated by the film and media industries while growing up, and has once again made clear her feelings about the interview she did with Barbara Walters in 1981.

While appearing on Wednesday's episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show," Shields spoke about the negative interview experiences she faced as a child and teenager and mentioned her infamous sitdown with the late television personality.

The actor said that the bar for how the press treated her and "what was acceptable" was so low at the time, adding: "Whether it's asking me my measurements on nationwide television, asking me to stand up. Barbara Walters did that and compared herself to me."

She added that the "approach that they had in asking me questions" was "really just unconscionable."

"It, like, stirs a rage in me," Clarkson chimed in.

"It does, it does," Shields responded.

The "Suddenly Susan" actor, who shares daughters Grier, 16, and Rowan, 19, with husband Chris Henchy, added: "As a mom too, it just breaks my heart to see that little girl."

Walters was known for her probing questions, and while speaking to "The Blue Lagoon" star in 1981, she quizzed the then 15-year-old Shields about her height and measurements.

She then asked Shields to stand up so that she could physically compare herself to the teenager, who, at 5-foot-10, towered over the 5-foot-5 ABC News journalist.

Walters then moved on to ask Shields if she would "be a mother like your mother," and push her own children into acting from a young age, and questioned whether her mom — who was sitting beside Shields during the interview — "took away her childhood."

Shields, who appeared to be visibly uncomfortable, defended her mother throughout the interview and said she was still going through her childhood and enjoying it.

This is not the first time that Shields has discussed how uncomfortable Walters' interviewing techniques made her.

Speaking on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in November, she and Barrymore — who appears as a talking head in "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields" — swapped stories about their experiences of being interviewed by the famously blunt broadcaster.

"I stand up and she's comparing herself to this little girl and I thought, 'This isn't right. I don't understand what this is," Shields said.

"But I behaved and smiled and felt like so taken advantage of in so many ways."

The actor also described the conversation as "practically criminal" during an appearance on Dax Shepard and Monica Padman's "Armchair Expert" podcast in December 2021.

After Shepard referred to the interview as "maddening," Shields agreed, adding: "It's practically criminal. It's not journalism."