Drew Barrymore says Hugh Grant's 'grumpy' Oscars interview with Ashley Graham is 'his way' of showing love

• Drew Barrymore has defended Hugh Grant's awkward Oscars interview with Ashley Graham.
• Barrymore said she could see why Graham was "thrown" by Grant, but said he was just being himself.

Drew Barrymore said anyone who thought Hugh Grant was rude in his interview with Ashley Graham on the red carpet of this year's Academy Awards didn't understand his nature.

During a recent segment of "The Drew Barrymore Show," the talk-show host weighed in on the controversy surrounding a viral clip of Grant's excruciatingly awkward Oscars interview with Graham.

At the start of the clip, which was re-uploaded to Twitter by several users, Graham could be seen standing beside Grant as she asked him a series of questions.

After describing Grant as a "veteran of the Oscars" she asked what he liked most about attending the ceremony. In response, Grant looked around and laughed before he said the event was "fascinating," adding "the whole of humanity is here. It's Vanity Fair."

As Insider previously reported, Grant gave a few more curt responses to her questions. Some viewers asked why he agreed to the interview if he wasn't willing to give more meaningful answers, labeling him "rude and dismissive", and saying the whole thing was "pretty weird" and one of the "worst Oscars interviews ever."

But Barrymore, who co-starred with Grant in the 2007 rom-com "Music and Lyrics," said Grant's grumpiness was part of his charm after she was asked to respond to him saying dogs could bark better than she could sing.

"If you know Hugh, that is his way of loving you," she said. "It's funny too because there's this thing going around with like him and Ashley Graham on the red carpet and people are like 'Oh he's such a curmudgeon and she's so thrown,' and I'm like 'No, that is Hugh Grant'."

"You think you're getting this charming movie star, and what you really get is grumpy Hugh. And then, you fall in love with grumpy Hugh," Barrymore added.

She went on to say that like Graham, she didn't initially get Grant's sense of humor when they started working together.

"It took me a second," Barrymore said. "And then I was like, 'Oh no, I love you.' He is a hilarious, good human being," she concluded.