Tina Fey shared her theory on what keeps women from breaking into late-night television during an appearance on "Late Night With Seth Meyers" on Wednesday. Her answer: clothes.
Late-night talk show hosts often start their jobs at 35 or 40 and keep them for decades, which presents a problem for women, she explained.
Urgent: Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama's Job Performance? Vote Now in Urgent Poll
“If you're a lady, what do you wear?” she said. "Because if you go in like with a cocktail dress, and then you're 45, you're 50, and there's going to come a day when you go, 'I don't got it! Bring me the jacket!'
"That’s why I think Ellen is going to be the first person to break through, because she's already wearing jackets!"
Fey, a former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, has worked closely with both "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon and Meyers. She's been watching the late-night television developments over the last months and years with a keen interest.
"The late-night wars are my Super Bowl," she said. "I love reading about it, I love talking about it because I kind of feel like I know the players but it doesn't affect me at all. It's like fantasy football for me."
There have been big shakeups on late-night talk shows this year.
Jimmy Fallon took over “The Tonight Show” on NBC, replacing Jay Leno. Meyers left SNL and took over Fallon's spot at "Late Night." In the last few weeks, CBS's "The Late Show" host David Letterman announced his impending retirement, and
comedian Stephen Colbert was tapped to replace him. Craig Ferguson also announced he will leave “The Late Late Show” on CBS next year, but no replacement has been named.
Urgent: Assess Your Heart Attack Risk in Minutes. Click Here.
Neil Patrick Harris revealed this week that he'd been approached about possibly taking over the "Late Late Show," but told Howard Stern the repetitive nature of a talk show would quickly bore him
In 2010, Leno and Conan O’Brien wrangled over “The Tonight Show,” with O’Brien ultimately moving to TBS.