Drew Barrymore Responds After Hugh Grant Calls Her ‘Horrible’

Drew Barrymore appeared to be on a mission to show off her musical prowess this week after Hugh Grant hinted that she needed a little technical assistance with her singing.

In a Wired video interview posted to YouTube on Monday, Grant recalled his experience working on the 2007 romantic comedy “Music and Lyrics,” which also starred Barrymore. When asked if he sang himself in the film, the actor replied that it was indeed his real voice, although it was “automatically tuned beyond belief”.

When it came to her co-star’s voice, however, Grant didn’t hold back – hinting that her performances were even more manipulated.

“Drew Barrymore was in that movie with me, and I don’t think she would mind me saying her singing is just awful,” he laughed. “I’ve heard dogs bark better than she sings.”

On Thursday, Barrymore responded to Grant’s tongue-in-cheek criticism with an Instagram video of herself tweeting “Way Back Into Love” — a song from the “Music and Lyrics” soundtrack — into a hairbrush.

“Oh, Hugh-bert, Hubert, this is for you,” she says at the end of the clip, using a nickname she’s used for Grant in the past.

Directed by Marc Lawrence, “Music and Lyrics” stars Grant as Alex Fletcher, a former boy band member who hopes to reinvigorate his flagging career by teaming up with budding lyricist Sophie Fisher ( Barrymore) to write a song for a modern pop star, Cora Corman (Haley Bennett).

Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office hit, grossing nearly $146 million worldwide.

Questionable singing skills aside, Barrymore and Grant have remained friends in the years since the film’s release. In an interview on “The Drew Barrymore Show” in 2021, the two shared their mutual admiration for each other’s work.

“I love to hate movies that I’ve been in, and I hate some of them,” Grant said on the talk show. “But ‘Music and Lyrics’ is impossible to hate. We’re so good at it, and so lovely.

Barrymore added: “If you think I’m good, that means a lot to me, because I have the deepest respect for you. Beyond your charm and your heart, your talent…is simply without equal.