The actress did her best to recreate the infamous moment for one very embarrassed Colbert.
Oops—she did it again!
During her Thursday appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Drew Barrymore recreated her famous 1995 desk dance atop David Letterman’s desk over 30 years later leaving a visibly embarrassed Colbert watching.
The spontaneous dance came after Barrymore mentioned that Letterman would be a guest on the upcoming sixth season of her Emmy-winning daytime talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show.
“I mean, I’ve spent some time here with David Letterman in this room,” Barrymore said, glancing around the Ed Sullivan Theater. Colbert quipped back, “You have. I’m only mildly insulted that you’ve never gotten on the desk.”
Colbert was, of course, alluding to Barrymore’s April 12, 1995, visit to The Late Show, when she spontaneously jumped onto David Letterman’s desk, swayed her hips, blew him a kiss, and even kissed him on the cheek to celebrate his birthday.
Barrymore readily accepted Colbert’s playful challenge.
“You want me to do a little dance for you?” she teased, prompting a startled Colbert to reply, “I promise you, I don’t. It was just a joke.”
Ignoring his repeated protests, Barrymore stood, removed her blazer, and revealed that the back of her white button-down was bedazzled with “I [heart] Stephen.” She then slid off her shoes, climbed onto Colbert’s desk, and began swaying her hips to the music provided by the Late Show Band.
Fully embracing the moment, Barrymore slowly crawled across Colbert’s desk while a red-faced host carefully lifted his mug to keep it from being knocked over during her playful display.
“It’s different now!” she exclaimed.
She finished the routine by lying triumphantly across the desk and flashing a big grin at the camera, while a flustered Colbert remained seated behind her.
“Well, Drew, I’m afraid that’s all the time we have, everybody,” Colbert said as Barrymore laughed.
Playfully pretending to be a doctor, Colbert placed a hand on her forehead and asked, “And tell me where the pain is, Drew.”
He then helped her up and pulled her into a hug. “You’re the best,” he added.
Barrymore’s appearance on The Late Show could be one of her final opportunities to dance on the desk, as the long-running franchise is set to end after its current season next May.
Last year, Barrymore shared that Letterman taught her how to be a good host and create a “safe” and “playful” atmosphere for guests through the way he reacted to her spontaneous desk dance.
“David Letterman taught me really, really well: if somebody does something spontaneous, you can either make it uncomfortable or celebrate it joyfully,” Barrymore said. “What he did for me that day when I climbed on his desk without a plan and just went with this wild freedom he made it okay for everyone in that moment. Certainly me.”
Season 6 of The Drew Barrymore Show premieres on Monday.