Tina Fey stripped down to her Spanx for David Letterman Thursday night — and the millions watching the last week of his show — and vowed that, because of the legendary host's upcoming departure from television, she will never again dress up for a talk show host.
“Because this is my last time wearing a fancy dress on a talk show and conforming to gender norms out of respect to you, my gift to you is I want to give you the dress,” Fey said, and the audience whooped and hollered as she stripped the dress off. On a black undergarment, “#LastDressEver” was on the back and “Bye Dave!” was on the front.
Along with creating an unusual goodbye for Letterman, Fey also managed to make a statement for women.
Before she took off her dark blue dress, Fey referred to the undergarments required to wear such a tight-fitting dress as “almost medical,” and she seemed glad to get rid of any expectations that she’d dress up in the future.
"What am I going to do put a dress on for Jimmy (Fallon)? That's creepy. He's like my brother," she said. "I'm gonna wear like special underwear for James Corden? That's not gonna happen. The next time you'll see me I'll be playing charades in a slanket."
Letterman seemed to be a little shocked at his half-naked guest, though he recovered enough to say, “Look. It’s Tina Fey!”
Reactions to Fey’s striptease online were mixed, with some posting on YouTube that the bit was too rehearsed. But many thought Fey was funny:
Letterman will end his 33-year television run on May 20.