‘I met Donald Trump on private jet – I looked into his eyes and saw something terrifying’

Ruby Wax once shared a story about the time she met Donald Trump, long before he ever became president of the United States. According to her, the experience left a very strong and uncomfortable impression on her. She said the meeting was so unsettling that she later described it as frightening, claiming that during their conversation she felt as if she was looking into something dark inside him.

Ruby Wax, who is well known as an actress, comedian, and television presenter, first met Trump around the year 2000. At that time he was famous mainly as a wealthy property developer and businessman, not as a political figure. Ruby had gone to interview him for her television series Ruby Wax Meets, where she would spend time talking with famous personalities and exploring their lives.

She remembered the moment she stepped onto Trump’s private jet. Everything inside, she said, was extremely luxurious. One detail that stuck in her mind was the bathroom, which had shiny gold fixtures. She said she was amazed by how extravagant everything looked. After looking around the aircraft, the two of them eventually sat down to begin the interview.

But what started as a routine interview quickly became an uncomfortable experience for her. Ruby later explained that during the conversation she felt deeply uneasy. She told the Sunday Times that while talking to him she had a strange feeling, as if she had suddenly seen something troubling about his personality. She said that in that moment she felt she had looked into what she described as “the eye of the beast,” and she claimed she sensed something she interpreted as evil. Ruby emphasized that she had never used such words to describe anyone else she had interviewed, which made the experience stand out even more in her memory. She said it genuinely frightened her.

During the conversation, Trump apparently made a remark about Ruby’s personality that surprised her. According to her, he told her, “You’re angry, but you do it with a smile.” Ruby admitted that the comment struck her because it felt very accurate. She said it showed that Trump was very skilled at reading people and quickly picking up on their emotional traits. However, she also suggested that he used that ability in a harsh way, claiming he would use whatever understanding he had of people’s feelings to attack or embarrass them rather than connect with them.

Ruby later compared the uncomfortable feeling she had during the interview to the complicated emotions she had felt toward her father earlier in her life. That comparison made the encounter even more intense for her because it brought back personal memories and emotions.

The interview with Trump was not the only unusual meeting Ruby talked about from her career. She also recalled interviewing former American football star O.J. Simpson in 1998. At that time, Simpson had already been at the center of one of the most controversial trials in American history. He had been accused of murdering his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, but he was acquitted in court in 1995.

When Ruby met Simpson a few years after the trial, she said the experience left her thinking deeply about how complex people can be. She said it made her believe that some individuals seem to have what she described as a kind of “double personality.” In her view, some people are able to behave as if nothing is wrong even when serious accusations surround them. She felt it was almost as if one part of their mind was shut off from the other, allowing them to lie or act normally without feeling guilt.

Over the years, Ruby has spoken openly about how difficult her interview with Trump felt at the time. She even said that it was one of the worst experiences she had during her television career. According to her, the situation became so tense that she felt extremely nervous and physically uncomfortable while filming.

In a later interview on the Stompcast podcast with Dr. Alex George, Ruby explained just how stressful the moment had been for her. She said Trump came across as extremely angry during the interview, and she felt overwhelmed by the energy he brought into the conversation. She remembered becoming so nervous that sweat was running down her face. At that moment, she said she started thinking that she never wanted to go through something like that again.

Ruby explained that Trump seemed very sharp when it came to analyzing people. When he repeated his comment about her being “angry with a smile,” she felt he had completely understood her personality. She admitted the observation was accurate, but she also said she believed he used that understanding in a harsh way.

Looking back on the experience, Ruby described the interview as one of the most painful and uncomfortable moments of her professional life. She later shared another detail about the meeting during an appearance on the Disruptors podcast. At one point during their conversation, Trump apparently mentioned that he wanted to become president of the United States. Ruby said she laughed when she heard this because at that time it sounded unrealistic to her. Years later, when Trump actually became president, the memory took on a completely different meaning.

Ruby Wax herself was born in the United States but later moved to the United Kingdom, where she built most of her career in television and entertainment. Early in her career she worked at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. It was there that she formed a close friendship with actor Alan Rickman, who later became famous worldwide for his roles as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films and Hans Gruber in the movie Die Hard.

Over the decades Ruby became well known in British television for her unique interview style, which often mixed humor with very direct and personal questions. Her approach sometimes made interviews intense because she tried to push guests into revealing their true thoughts and personalities.

Even many years after the interview with Trump, Ruby still remembers it vividly. For her, the encounter remains one of the most uncomfortable and emotional experiences she faced while working in television. Despite having interviewed many powerful and famous figures throughout her career, she said that meeting Trump stood out as one of the moments she found the most difficult to handle.

More recently, Ruby has continued to appear in television and media projects. Last year she even took part in the British reality television show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, showing that she is still active in entertainment after decades in the public eye.