Robert Downey Jr called this Aussie TV host a 'piece of s---' and her retort was all time

Well, that definitely escalated!

Maz Compton spent the best part of the '00s touring the globe and interviewing some of the world's biggest celebrities as MTV's resident VJ.

Now, her new memoir is set to drop the curtain on some of the greatest hits -- chiefly, those that went down when the cameras stopped rolling.

UnEdited, released tomorrow, recounts the highs and lows of Maz's early media career, including one particularly terrifying encounter with Robert Downey Jr.

It was 2008, and he was in the country promoting his new film Iron Man when Maz scored a one-on-one chat.

But it was far from a smooth start. According to the TV and radio star, after entering the interview room, Robert reached for "a bottle of pills at his feet" and offered her one, while chatting away to the cameraman about a trip he’d taken to Mexico.

In an attempt to "break the ice", Maz asked him if the pills were perhaps for a parasite that he’d picked up on his holiday.

"His mouth dropped open," she recalled.

But before she knew it, the cameraman announced to the room "rolling when you’re ready Maz."

She continued, "And at that exact moment, RDJ did something bizarre. [He] lifted up his right arm before the first word was out of my mouth. He pointed directly at me and said: ‘You’re a piece of s---’.

Thankfully, she wasn't completely lost for words.

"I was part in shock, part in fear of responding," she explained. "I didn’t know whether to laugh or leave. I think everyone in the room was waiting for my retort. I stared into his eyes. Without hesitation, I fired back …"No, you’re a piece of s---."

Her sass, it seemed, paid off.

"He laughed — a really friendly and warm laugh — and said, 'Good, I like you. Continue.'"

Phew, it could've ended much worse.