The advice Oprah Winfrey gave to Tina Fey
Apart from perhaps the Pope and the Dalai Lama, Oprah Winfrey was the most trusted and beloved source of advice and wisdom throughout the past 30 years. Thanks to her stint as the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show for 25 years, Winfrey gifted generations of viewers with thoughts on lifestyle choices, personal philosophy, self-image, and book recommendations. Along the way, she became one of the most successful women in the history of entertainment.
So when Oprah gives you a pearl of wisdom, it’s probably a good idea to take it to heart. That’s what 30 Rock creator and former Saturday Night Live head writer Tina Fey learned. The Mean Girls writer had managed to get Winfrey to appear on the 30 Rock episode ‘Believe in the Stars’, but during the scheduled time for filming, Fey was juggling both her daughter’s birthday and an offer from Lorne Michaels to play Sarah Palin at SNL.
Trying to manage all three events proved to be slightly chaotic, as Fey explained in her memoir Bossypants. “Back at 30 Rock we scheduled our shooting day with Miss Oprah Winfrey. She generously offered to fly in on Saturday, September 13, to pick up her scenes. This was perfect. I could safely plan my daughter’s party for Sunday the 14th,” Fey wrote. “On Thursday, Oprah’s office checked in to say that she had heard I might be doing SNL and would I rather reschedule her shoot? No, no, no! Get the ‘O’ in the can… [On Saturday] I got up at 6 am and filmed my scenes with Oprah. She was great. She really does smell nice.”
Despite the shooting going according to plan, Fey’s tight schedule did not go unnoticed by her guest star. “Between setups I sat with my daughter on my lap and watched Governor Palin on YouTube and tried to improve my accent. Oprah seemed genuinely concerned for me. ‘How much rehearsal time are you going to get?’ (BTW, when Oprah Winfrey is suggesting you may have overextended yourself, you need to examine your f***ing life.)”
With Winfrey’s concern duly noted, Fey managed to juggle all three activities. “Around 5:30pm, Oprah and I wrapped and I went over to SNL, but not before stealing an untouched Edible Arrangements bouquet from Oprah’s dressing room to serve at the birthday party the next day.” Just hours after wrapping her scenes with Oprah, Fey appeared as Palin during the cold open of the Season 34 premiere on Saturday Night Live.
Check out Oprah’s appearance on 30 Rock down below.
