Tina Fey Surprised Tearful Fans on Fallon—but the Real Surprise Was for Her

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“Grool” might be an understatement to describe the reaction Thursday when Mean Girls writer Tina Fey surprised her own fans on The Tonight Show. As one stunned, tearful young woman put it to Fey, “I cannot tell you how much it meant for this quirky, weird girl in high school to look up to you.”

“I was doing it all for selfish reasons, but then I ended up helping you!” Fey said.

The Broadway adaptation of Mean Girls recently hit the stage, so naturally Fey stopped by Tonight to promote it—and pal around with her old Saturday Night Live co-star, host Jimmy Fallon. Celebrities surprising their fans has become something of a staple on Fallons show, with figures like Michelle Obama and Chadwick Boseman previously emerging from behind the curtain to hug shocked, sometimes tearful fans of their work.

This time, however, the usual format got a little twist: after airing the pre-recorded segment in which Fey surprised her fans, Fallon—on-stage with Fey—stepped out to give a little thank-you of his own. Fey and Fallon had a special bond during their Saturday Night Live days; they anchored “Weekend Update” together for years, and duetted on “Summer Lovin” from Grease for Fallons departure from the sketch show in 2004. Plus, Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett has said that he was “absolutely” cast as Aaron Samuels because he looked like Fallon.

As he so often did on S.N.L., Fallon broke a little during his tribute—but instead of letting out a laugh, Fallon was fighting tears.

“If youre lucky, throughout your life you get to meet and spend time with a few ppl who really change you for the better. I got lucky; for me you were one of those people. I met you when I was 23—I believe you were 45.” (That's a joke: at the time, Fey was in her late 20s.) "And I was lucky enough to work with you, and grow with you, and learn from you. A lot of people in this world have dreams or goals or ideas but not everybody goes out and fights to make them happen. But youre someone who did. . . And most importantly, even now, you're making other people feel like they can do the same thing and change the world. Today, Im 27 years old and I have two daughters. . . And my hope for them is that they'll grow up to be leaders like you. And that theyll be as fearless and confident in their strengths as you are. I love you.”

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