Ayo Edebiri’s parents are taking full advantage of attending awards shows with their daughter, and apparently making famous friends along the way. Even Edebiri herself was surprised — and very confused — when Henry Winkler texted her about her parents.
Appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Thursday night, in support of her new film “Inside Out 2” (now in theaters), Edebiri recalled “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Tony Shalhoub being one of the first famous people both she and her parents properly freaked out over meeting.
At one point, Edebiri even had to explain that she and Shalhoub aren’t actually friends, after her parents casually asked “How’s Tony?” But shortly thereafter, she learned that her parents actually are becoming friends with actors they meet.
“I got a text from Henry Winkler, and he was like ‘How are your parents?!’ And I was like ‘What?’” Edebiri recalled with a laugh. “Are my parents making friends at these shows? And then he sent me a photo with my parents! When did that happen? Like, literally, when did that happen?”
Edebiri doesn’t seem to mind the turn of events, but she did admit that she was surprised it was happening, if only because that’s now how her parents were when she was a kid.
“I grew up, like, Pentecostal Christian, and both of my parents are immigrants from like, different sides of Diaspora, so like, this was not the energy growing up,” she said. “At all.”
At that, Fallon asked what Edebiri’s parents thought of her hosting “SNL,” to which she revealed that they made friends there too, persuading cast member Marcello Hernandez to invite them to the afterparty.
You can watch Ayo Edebiri’s full appearance on “The Tonight Show” in the video above.