Anthony Anderson speaks up on resurfaced comments about 17-year-old Lindsay Lohan

Anthony Anderson is responding to renewed criticism over a resurfaced clip from his 2003 appearance on The Sharon Osbourne Show, where his comments to then-17-year-old Lindsay Lohan have sparked controversy. 

In the interview, Lohan mentioned she had just moved in with Raven-Symoné, prompting Anderson to jokingly ask about the men who might be visiting. 

When Lohan replied she didn’t have a boyfriend, he quipped, “Well, you know, some men like ’em young… I’m one of ’em,” before quickly laughing it off and shifting the conversation.

Now, more than two decades later, the clip has been circulating online, with many viewers expressing discomfort. 

One social media user noted the exchange “hasn’t aged well,” echoing broader concerns about the tone and content of past interviews involving young celebrities.

In response, Anderson’s rep told PEOPLE that the interview “was clearly intended as comedy.” 

The statement continued, “He regrets if the humor was in poor taste and maintains the utmost respect for Lindsay.” They also clarified that “any implication to the contrary is both inaccurate and potentially defamatory.”

For Lohan, who spent much of her youth under intense public scrutiny, experiences like this have shaped her relationship with fame. 

In a 2024 interview with Bustle, she opened up about the challenges of being in the spotlight so young. 

“I feel like some of [my work] got overshadowed by paparazzi and all that kind of stuff when I was younger, and that’s kind of annoying,” she said. “I wish that part didn’t happen.”

She added that the constant media attention ultimately drove her to step back from Hollywood. 

“I feel like that kind of took on a life of its own,” Lohan said. “So that’s why I wanted to disappear. I was like, ‘Unless there’s no story here, they’re not going to focus on just my work.’”

Lohan is now a mother to two-year-old Luai with husband Bader Shammas, and has gradually returned to acting, with fans seeing her in a new light, on her terms.