Photos: Alan Singer/CBS, Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
Nearly 30 years after Drew Barrymore made late-night history by hopping on David Letterman’s desk during a 1995 Late Show visit, she returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater Thursday night with a wink to the past—and a nod to the show’s current host, Stephen Colbert.
Barrymore was there to promote Season 6 of The Drew Barrymore Show, which launches next Monday. In the middle of her conversation with Colbert, she teased the audience with a callback to her infamous striptease-for-Letterman moment.
This time, the dance was a little more restrained. Still, she found her way on top of Colbert’s desk. With the crowd cheering, Barrymore pulled off her jacket to reveal a shirt emblazoned across the back with the message “We love Stephen.”
The moment grew out of playful banter. After Barrymore mentioned her history with Letterman, Colbert said, “I am only mildly insulted you’ve never got on the desk.”
Barrymore quickly shot back, “Do you want me to do a little dance for you?” Colbert tried to brush it off—“It was just a joke. I promise you. No, next time. Next time.”—but Barrymore wasn’t about to let it slide.
Moments later, she was dancing on his desk, remarking to Colbert, “It’s different now.”
Colbert, caught somewhere between amusement and alarm, laughed it off as the audience roared. “I love that shirt,” he told her as the segment wrapped.
The Drew Barrymore Show returns next week with a starry guest lineup that includes Jennifer Aniston, Issa Rae, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas—and David Letterman himself.