Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.
Barrymore has consistently starred in hit films and movies that are rewatchable cable-TV staples, such as “Charlie’s Angels” (2000), “Never Been Kissed” (1999), “Scream” (1996), “The Wedding Singer” (1998), “50 First Dates” (2004) and “Fever Pitch” (2005).
Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS. So far, the show has been a big success, attracting an average of 1.21 million views per show, and ranks as the #4 talk show in syndication. It was recently renewed through the 2024 season.
On May 25, the show’s Instagram page posted a touching video of an off-the-cuff moment between Barrymore and a fan during a taping of her show. In the clip, Barrymore realizes that someone in the audience is crying. So, instead of ignoring the fan, she jumps to action to see what is the matter.
“Are you OK? Did anything happen? Whose a** do I have to kick?” she said while approaching the audience member. The crying fan’s friend clarified things for Barrymore, saying she loves her. “Oh, thank God, it’s nothing bad,” Barrymore exclaimed.
“I was like, ‘Tell me who they are, and I will take them down.’ Who made you cry?” she joked.
“You’re just, like, my childhood idol. I don’t want to be that person to cry,” the woman, who goes by the name Olivia, admitted. Then Barrymore assured her that emotional outbursts are acceptable and encouraged in her studio.
“Oh, screw that! Be that person!” Barrymore said.
“I really love you. I’m sorry,” the fan said as she was handed a tissue. The talk show host then sat on Olivia’s lap and comforted her. “I have the urge to do this,” Barrymore said as she held her.
“This is such an honor for me, to meet you. I’m sorry I have dumpling breath,” Barrymore told Olivia. “It’s so funny that you would say you don’t want to cry here,” she continued. “I cry here all the time.”
Olivia appeared in the comment section on the show’s Instagram page and received a ton of support for her outburst. Upworthy reached out to Olivia, but she had no further comments.
“So amazing! I’m sure you and Drew will forever remember this special moment,” Willvillanueva71 wrote. “Honestly, the tears were super valid. Drew is a walking angel,” Suuuuyung added.
“I was crying almost the entire time. She is my idol & very grateful I got the chance to speak with her!” Olivia commented.
The tender exchange between Barrymore and Olivia shows that the talk show host is just as sweet and caring off-camera as she is when she does her show. They always say you should never meet your heroes, but it’s probably a good idea if yours is Drew Barrymore.