It was 2013. The set of The Graham Norton Show is usually a masterclass in controlled chaos—a place where A-listers drink a little wine, tell a few stories, and pretend they’re all best friends for forty-five minutes. But when Mark Wahlberg sat down on that famous red sofa alongside Michael Fassbender and Sarah Silverman, the "control" part of that equation vanished. Fast.
Honestly, it remains one of the most uncomfortable hours of television ever broadcast. If you’ve seen the clips, you know. Wahlberg wasn't just "relaxed." He was, by almost all accounts including the host's, completely hammered.
The Night Everything Went Off the Rails
Most guests on Graham Norton play by the rules. You tell a self-deprecating story, you laugh at the host’s jokes, and you let the other guests speak. Mark Wahlberg didn’t get the memo that night. Promoting his film Broken City, the actor started the show appearing relatively normal, but as Graham later recalled at the Henley Literary Festival in 2025, the "stuff" in Wahlberg's system took hold about 15 minutes in.
It became a car crash in slow motion.
Wahlberg began repeatedly interrupting Sarah Silverman, who was trying to tell a deeply personal (and funny) story about her grandmother. At one point, the tension was so thick you could've cut it with a knife. Silverman literally had to tell him to "shut up" so she could finish. It wasn't the playful banter the show is known for; it was the kind of awkwardness that makes you want to slide under your own coffee table.
Then came the physical stuff.
Wahlberg climbed onto Graham’s lap. He started pinching the host's nipples. Yes, you read that right. While Fassbender sat there looking like he wanted to be anywhere else on Earth, Wahlberg was treating the UK's most successful talk show host like a jungle gym.
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"It Was Hell": Graham Norton Speaks Out
For years, Graham was pretty diplomatic about the whole thing. He’d shrug it off as "one of those nights." But more recently, the mask has slipped a bit. He described the experience as "hell" because a talk show relies on the "flow" of conversation. When one person dominates the airtime by shouting over others or—even worse—falling asleep, the engine stalls.
That’s exactly what happened.
In a bizarre twist, after being the loudest person in the room, Wahlberg actually drifted off. Graham noted that he suddenly realized Michael Fassbender was finally getting to tell a story uninterrupted. He looked over, and Wahlberg was out cold. "We didn't wake him," Graham said later. "We were delighted."
Was it a "Bit" or Just Too Much Wine?
Here is where the story gets murky. After the episode aired and the internet exploded, Wahlberg didn't exactly apologize. Instead, he claimed the whole thing was a "bit."
He told Digital Spy that he and Sarah Silverman had planned to do something "funny" and that people simply took it too seriously. Most viewers aren't buying it. The body language from Silverman and Fassbender didn't look like people in on a joke; it looked like two professionals trying to survive a shift with a disruptive co-worker.
- The Wine Factor: The show famously serves alcohol.
- The Pre-Loading Theory: Graham has since clarified that they only give guests a couple of drinks. If someone is truly wasted, they usually "pre-loaded" before they got to the studio.
- Jet Lag: Being a global superstar means constant flights. Mix a massive time zone jump with a few glasses of red wine, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Why We’re Still Talking About It
We love seeing celebrities unmasked. Usually, these junkets are so polished they feel robotic. Seeing a massive star like Mark Wahlberg lose his filter—even if it was messy and "annoying" for the host—is a reminder that these people aren't holograms.
Interestingly, there doesn't seem to be a permanent ban. Wahlberg has been back on the show since then, appearing much more "Mark Wahlberg-ish"—sober, professional, and focused on the work. It seems the "nipple-pinching" era of 2013 was a one-time glitch in the matrix.
What You Can Learn from the Chaos
If you're ever in a high-stakes social situation, there are actually a few "pro tips" to take away from this celebrity meltdown.
First, read the room. If you’re the only one talking, you’re not the life of the party; you’re the obstacle. Second, if you're mixing travel and alcohol, maybe stick to water until you’ve had a nap. Finally, if you do make a fool of yourself, the "it was just a joke" defense rarely works if nobody else was laughing.
The Mark Wahlberg and Graham Norton saga is a permanent entry in the Hall of Fame for awkward TV. It serves as a great reminder that even the most controlled environments can spiral when you add a little bit of "pre-loading" and a total lack of a filter.
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Next time you feel like you've had an embarrassing night out, just remember: at least you didn't pinch Graham Norton's nipples in front of millions of people.