Amazon Prime Video faces backlash over DeShaun Watson interview
Amazon Prime Video faces backlash over DeShaun Watson interview
Joseph McBride Fri, October 2, 2026 at 6:56 AM UTC
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Deshaun Watson spoke to Taylor Rooks in a feature that aired before TNF. (Image: Amazon)
Cleveland Browns quarterback participated in a candid interview with Amazon Prime ahead of Thursday Night Football, though the segment made viewers uneasy.
The Browns welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers on TNF, as Week 4 of the new NFL season kicked off with an AFC North matchup. Watson has served as the Browns' starting quarterback this season following multiple injuries that kept him out for the entire 2025 season, and he has yet to finish a full 17-game schedule for Cleveland.
Watson remains a deeply controversial figure due to his off-field issues, and he even confronted his own fans during the preseason. So, when feature reporter Taylor Rooks interviewed Watson to explore how he's viewed and the challenges he's encountered, it angered NFL fans, considering some of the accusations he has faced previously. Meanwhile, Al Michaels has been called to apologize after 'disrespecting' Browns star.
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Rooks and Watson addressed his violation of the league's Personal Conduct Policy, which led to an 11-game suspension during the 2022 season. They subsequently discussed his multiple injury complications, and the interview aimed to present a different perspective of Watson.
Nevertheless, Rooks and Amazon have faced criticism from frustrated TNF viewers who are dissatisfied with the segment's objective. "The NFL and Amazon trying to push a Deshaun Watson sob story on us. Oh I'm so sure," one displeased fan posted on X.
Watson started for the Browns in Thursday Night Football. (Image: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"First soundbite in the Amazon interview with Deshaun Watson... he talks about the world being against him and can he forgive," another posted. "Does he have this backwards?" A third commented, "Taylor Rooks asked Deshaun Watson on the Amazon pregame show how he makes sense of his ups and downs on the field and the first thing he pointed to was his mental state. Specifically mentioned dealing with 'the world kind of flipping against me.'".
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The critical responses kept flowing, with one user sharing, "Deshaun Watson trying to play victim on pregame show is quite something. Geez Amazon.."
Another stated, "Amazon Prime is really doing a 'I know everyone thinks you're a bad guy, but you're playing well, so you can't be THAT bad a person, right?' interview with Deshaun Watson."
One user expressed strong disapproval, posting, "Honestly f--- Amazon for giving an interview to Deshaun Watson. He doesn't deserve a platform and certainly doesn't deserve to be on that field."
Watson joined the Browns in 2022 through a major trade with the Houston Texans. Cleveland sent its first-round selections in 2022, 2023, and 2024, along with the third-round selection in 2023 and fourth-round selections in 2022 and 2024.
Accompanying the trade, Watson inked a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal, establishing a new benchmark for guaranteed compensation in an NFL contract. Watson subsequently served an 11-game suspension during the 2022 regular season and received a $5 million fine.
Watson participated in the final six contests of that campaign, but began his fifth season having appeared in only 19 games due to injury setbacks. The Browns' leadership has acknowledged that the Watson acquisition ranks among the most disastrous in NFL history, although he has shown promise at the start of his fifth and final season with the organization.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
