Chris Wallace Straight-Up Asks ‘Shark Tank’ Host Kevin O’Leary ‘Are You Really THAT Much Of An Asshole?’

CNN anchor Chris Wallace straight-up asked entrepreneur and Shark Tank co-host Kevin O’Leary “Are you really that much of an asshole?” after a brutal montage from the show.

Wallace interviewed O’Leary — nicknamed “Mr. Wonderful” on his business-oriented reality competition show — for this week’s edition of his Max series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace on various topics, including his on-air persona, his relationships with co-hosts, his track record as an investor, and more.

Wallace played clips of O’Leary meting out soul-crushing kiss-offs and asked him if that “assholishness” is authentic:

WALLACE: Well, let’s go back to the history of Shark Tank, because the story goes that when executive producer Mark Burnett was casting the show, he met with you, and he said, we need a real asshole, and you’re it. Is that true?

O’LEARY: It is true. It is true. He just said to me, don’t go changing. We want the real you. Embrace your assholeness, be one with the asshole and bring it forward. And that’s all I’ve ever done.

WALLACE: Well, Kevin, I have to say you have played your role brilliantly over the years. Here are just a few of your interactions.

[CLIP]

WALLACE: Are you really that much of an asshole? Or are you just playing a part?

O’LEARY: You know, maybe it’s in the delivery. But here’s the bottom line, and I believe this to be true. I tell the truth. And so if your idea has no merit and it’s destined to bankrupt your family and wipe out your equity in your home because you’re mortgaging it for this idea, I would rather tell you the truth.

And I have this argument with my fellow sharks, because to my left is Laurie and Barbara Cochran has been there beside me for 15 years. We know each other very well.

But I find it distasteful and almost disgusting when they say to them, oh, you know, you keep going. I’m not going to invest but you keep going, I call them out on it. I say, you know, you didn’t give me any money because, you know it’s crap. Why don’t you tell them the truth? Well, I don’t want to hurt their feelings. I don’t care about their feelings. I think they should know the truth.

Watch above via Max’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace.