| Rebecca Macatee 8. April 2015 – 07:15
This just goes to show you, kids, sometimes a rejection has nothing to do with you!
On Tuesday’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Louis C.K. admitted that back in the ’90s, he squashed the late-night host’s dreams of starring on The Dana Carvey Show simply because he was jealous!
“So we were auditioning people to be in the cast, and you came in. You were a young, adorable little boy,” said the Louie star, 47. “I mean he was a grown man, I’m not a creep…But you were playing the guitar and you had these little Troll dolls and you were singing songs about Troll dolls…and then you would turn around and wiggle your ass a little bit, because you were young and you had a tight little ass!”
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“What are you talking about?” asked Jimmy Fallon, 40, laughing at Louis’ recollection of events.
“I’m just making observations,” the comedian deadpanned. “I didn’t have any feelings about it. I’m just saying what I saw.”
Jimmy denied any prolific booty-shaking, but Louis stood by his recollection. In any case, he continued on with this story, telling the late-night host about the meeting he had with fellow writers and producers to discuss casting.
“Your name came up, and all the women in the staff were like, ‘That guy has to be on. That’s guy’s gonna be a huge star,'” he recalled. “And me and this guy Dino, a writer on the show, were both like, ‘Never! Never him, I will quit.’ I think I actually said, ‘I will quit the show if you hire that kid! Absolutely not!’ I was dead against you!”
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Harsh, right?! But it all came down to jealousy! “You had all your hair, you were in shape, you were a young kid, and I was already sweaty and balding and I was depressed, and it was pure jealousy,” Louis admitted. “And I knew it, I was like, ‘This is really f–ked up to be doing because this kid is really talented, but I don’t want to look at him every day because it will make me upset about myself.’ So I torpedoed your chances. I mean, I really, really went to bat against you. And you didn’t get the show.”
“But it doesn’t matter,” Louis went on. “You were inevitable. You’re a huge talent. You’re a superbly talented kid.”
“I can’t believe that, though, you squashed my dreams,” said Jimmy.
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“Yes,” said Louis. “I did, for a minute, but that just shows that nobody can really hurt you. I took something away from you, and look at you now.”
Indeed, The Dana Carvey Show only aired for seven episodes, and Jimmy went on to Saturday Night Live…and beyond.
Watch Jimmy and Louis’ LOL-worthy back-and-forth over the early-career snub in the Tonight Show clip above!
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Late-night talk show hosts
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