If asked to write a compare and contrast essay, one could do worse for a topic than two recent celebrity interviews: Gayle King’s conversation with R. Kelly for “CBS This Morning” and Robin Roberts’ talk with Jussie Smollett for ABC’s “Good Morning America.” In the former, Oprah’s bestie managed to stay calm among Kelly’s hysterics and fire off several tough queries. The latter saw Roberts softball her interview with Smollett, which looked even worse in light of Smollett’s arrest related to faking a hate crime.

King talked with Kelly regarding sex abuse charges against the singer stemming from Lifetime’s documentary special “Surviving R. Kelly.” To say Kelly was upset during his time with King would be an understatement. At one point, a crying Kelly leapt out of his chair in anger, ranting and raving like a professional wrestler cutting a promo.

Despite Kelly’s unhinged behavior, King managed to keep her cool and went on to ask some uncomfortable questions of the veteran R&B singer who in 2008 was acquitted of 14 charges of child pornography. King’s stock as an interviewer can only rise based on her unflappable performance.

“Gayle King is again teaching a master’s class in interviewing,” Yamiche Alcindor, White House correspondent for PBS’ “NewsHour,” wrote on Twitter. “She remains so calm and focused while @rkelly  loses it.”

Robin Roberts should take that class. From the beginning, “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s claim he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack in Chicago in January had more holes in it than Bonnie and Clyde’s death car.

“Two in the morning, almost the coldest night of the year, you were attacked and someone conveniently had a rope?” asked commentator Kmele Foster. “My heart goes out to anyone who gets attacked, but it’s totally appropriate to exercise a bit of skepticism and to exercise a bit of patience in waiting for the facts to develop around this story.”

Roberts exhibited no skepticism. Her interview with Smollett played out like a counseling session in which the television thespian vented and teared up in arguably his finest performance to date. Not one hard question was asked by Roberts, who ended the emotive so-called interview by calling Smollett “beautiful” in a barely audible whisper.

Smollett has since been arrested on a felony charge of filing a false police report (and worse) in connection with an alleged attack he orchestrated, resulting in Roberts’ backpedaling faster than Lance Armstrong in reverse. Post-arrest, Roberts claims she saw “red flags” in Smollett’s story prior to the interview and that as a gay black woman she was put in the untenable position of interviewing a gay black man about an alleged hate crime. Don’t buy it. Roberts is using her race and sexual orientation as a crutch in a self-serving attempt to explain away her tepid interview of Smollett.

Pencils down!