Drew Barrymore Makes a Fashionable Statement, Recreates Late-Night Desk Dance

Drew Barrymore recreated a viral moment from her career during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert… only this time she used the opportunity to make a fashionable statement, and she didn’t flash a late-night TV host.

The 50-year-old actress appeared on the Thursday, Sept. 5, episode to address the impending return of The Drew Barrymore Show, which enters its sixth season on Monday, Sept. 8.

Speaking with host Stephen Colbert, Barrymore listed the guests lined up for the first week back on air. That included the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Issa Rae, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas.

“Also, funny enough to say in this room, David Letterman,” she said, referencing the former late-night host who used to man the desk on The Late Show before Colbert took over in 2015.

“I’m only mildy insulted that you never got on the desk,” Colbert told Barrymore, referencing the unforgettable moment that she hopped on Letterman’s desk in 1995 to dance for him during a taping of the show.

Barrymore infamously flashed the star and kissed him on the cheek as the performance was met with excited cheers from the audience.

After Colbert brought up the 35-year-old dance routine, Barrymore volunteered to recreate it. Despite his reservations, she stood up and removed the pinstriped blazer that matched her long skirt to reveal that the back of her shirt was bedazzled to read “WE [HEART] STEPHEN.”

She then hopped on the desk as the band broke into a number. Barrymore made sure to lift up her hair so that the message was revealed in full as she danced.

“It’s different now,” the talk show host admitted while crawling across the desk as Colbert desperately attempted to save a coffee mug from getting knocked off.

Her performance ended with her lying across the desk and sharing a hug with the host, who referred to her as “the best.”

Barrymore is the latest star to show support for Colbert since his show was canceled after 10 seasons by CBS in July. The cancellation was met with rage from Hollywood, with stars such as Sandra Oh speaking out.

Fellow late-night hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have also voiced support.

This isn’t the first time that Barrymore has referenced her dance while on Colbert’s show.

During a 2018 appearance, she admitted that the moment was “like a distant memory that just doesn’t seem like me.”

“And that’s kind of cool. I’m still down with that,” she said, adding, “I’m such a different person now that it doesn’t feel like me, but I’m still into it. You only have one life!”

The mom of two had more to say about the specific moment and the early days of her career during a 2020 appearance on CBS Sunday Morning.

“I pushed the limits a lot, many different times in my life,” she shared. “And I’m very lucky, I know that. I tested, I pushed, probably too far many a time. … I at least tried to meet that blessing with having learned something.”

Regarding the dance in particular, Barrymore said, “I think if there’s one thing I’ve learned in a very long life in front of people is there is a line. There is TMI. And I kind of know what that line is, and it’s a feeling.”

During the same interview, the star explained that she had reached out to other talk show hosts for advice as she made her own space in the world of daytime TV. That included asking Letterman to impart some wisdom.

“They all say pace yourself, which, of course, I, in my stubbornness, was like, ‘I’ve been working since I was 11 months old! You don’t even know my work ethic,’ ” she said.

Letterman even got to make an appearance on The Drew Barrrymore Show in 2021, prompting the show’s host to burst into tears.

Barrymore appeared on Letterman’s show 20 times over the years. In 2015, she explained how her 1995 dance was a breakthrough moment in her bond with the iconic host.

“From that infamous show, we developed a really fun chemistry,” Barrymore told Entertainment Weekly.

“From the moment I went on — especially with my little dance number, which was completely spontaneous and not calculated in any way — he let the audience know it was okay,” she recalled, adding, “He was so accepting of me, and letting everyone know to just go on the ride.”