Some people are afraid of clowns for all the typical reasons: They have that creepy painted-on smile; they are adults hanging out with children; they have tears when no one is around, et cetera, et cetera. Robert Pattinson, though, can trump your clown pathology without even trying. “The first time I went to a circus, somebody died,†he told Matt Lauer today during the first ten seconds of his Today show interview this morning. “One of the clowns died.†Admirably, Lauer decided, “All right, I’m not letting that go†and pressed Pattinson for details, forcing the Water for Elephants star to explain, “His little car exploded. The joke car exploded on him. Seriously! Everybody ran out. It was terrifying. And that’s the only time I’ve ever been to the circus.†No amount of sprayed joke seltzer can wash away those memories.
