“I’m sitting here embarrassed and humiliated”: Maya Rudolph Reveals David Letterman Humiliated Her on the Show Despite the Host Profusely Apologizing Later

Maya Rudolph, who first gained recognition for being a cast member of Saturday Night Live (SNL) has recently shared how her first appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman went bad. She is the daughter of the late R&B and soul singer Minnie Riperton who left the comedy show and went on to work as an actor.

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The 50-year-old actress told in a recent interview that her first appearance on the Letterman show was not “good” and felt humiliated by what the host did. Not only that, but she also opened up about the difficulties that she faced during the early days of her career.

Maya Rudolph Sharing Her First Experience on The Late Show With David Letterman 

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In an interview with the WSJ magazine published on Friday, the Bridesmaids star Maya Rudolph shared that she “did not have a good time” in her first appearance at The Late Show With David Letterman in 2009. She was there to promote her then-new film, Away We Go which is a comedy-drama movie starring the comedian alongside John Krasinski.

She further specified the reason for not feeling good during her first interview stating, “He said my name wrong.” She added that she had always loved him however she was devastated once that happened. “I just sat there, like, I grew up my whole life in love with you. And now my heart is broken. And I’m sitting here embarrassed and humiliated,” she told the magazine.

“I didn’t know how to handle it,” she continued.

“I didn’t know how to come up with something funny to say. My public persona muscle wasn’t strong yet,” she shared stating that she was a rising star at that time which made it more difficult to deal with the situation.

David Letterman Apologized for His Mistake

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The first impression often lingers longer than anything so it would be hard for the actress to deal with the situation after she found herself getting humiliated on the show. Though she stated that the host did ask for an apology for mispronouncing her name.

“I’m sorry that I mispronounced your name,” the host apologized to her. “I’m just a boob, there’s no excuse for it, and from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely apologize.”

Though she further explained that she had a hard time during her early career stage especially when she had to appear on red carpets or interviews.

“It would always feel like someone was stealing my soul,” she stated. “That’s where, over the years, I created a persona to protect myself.”

She further stated that she has “definitely gotten much better,” and now tries to be funny if she gets uncomfortable while dealing with the same scenarios.

It’s been years that the actress had to deal with not being confident however she still doesn’t feel herself a celebrity. Sharing that she is a “working actor and people know who I am,” she told the magazine that the word celebrity means “something else today to me.” 

She is a successful star who has recently worked on voicing the Hormone Monstress, Connie, in the Netflix show Big Mouth.

Source: The Wall Street Journal