TNC is sick of the celebrity profile that begins with a super-fit beautiful actress eating a nice big meal perfect for a “Real Murkin”:

On the journalism of this, first. The scene where the reporter and star eat together should be banished from all of magazines. I’m sure I’ve done it before, and it’s not wrong if it serves some higher purpose, or if something interesting truly get says. But usually the point is to prove the star’s accessibility, that they’re–in fact–just like you. Which they are not.

via I’ll Just Have a Salad – Ta-Nehisi Coates – Culture – The Atlantic.

The point for the star’s PR team is to prove “their accessibility”. I would guess the point for some journalists could be the perk of text-ing their closest friends: “I am eating brunch with the sexiest woman alive!” or they could have shown up at the interview and the actress requested they start the interview over a meal. The point for the actress may be that she has an eating disorder or image issues she wants to mask or she actually does want to bust a grub. Either way, I am not going to say what the point “usually” is, because I haven’t been around enough A-List actresses to even take a guess.