Drew Barrymore recently reacted to a video of her child self screaming at Johnny Carson in her Tonight Show debut.
Barrymore went on a recent episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, during which she got to watch back old footage from her first-ever appearance on the show. The actress was only 7 years old when she first attended the Tonight Show. During her debut, host Johnny Carson told young Barrymore to give a scream.
“Guys, ready?” she asked the crowd, smiling in the footage. Little Barrymore then let out a high-pitched shriek.
“That’s a good scream,” said Carson. “Have you always been able to do that?”
“I practiced so much at home that I was able to do it,” the young actress said. “So the other day I screamed my throat off. When I got home, I was sweating. I needed to take a shower badly. I was filthy!”
The entire crowd laughed at the adorable footage, including Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon.
“That is so charming, that person,” Fallon said. “And what a great woman you’ve become,” Fallon said.
“You know what’s so wild when I look at that?” Barrymore said. “My legs don’t touch the ground. Like we are all growing up together. I’m 49 years old and I’m like, I’m just growing up with everyone. And my legs touched the ground now!”
Drew Barrymore Reacts to Her First Debut on ‘Tonight Show’ as a Seven-Year-Old
Present-day Barrymore watched her younger self on the Tonight Show with what appeared to be adoration, love, and empathy.
“She’s watching herself with all the wisdom she has now, as if she might mother herself,” one person commented on Instagram. “So touching.”
Barrymore’s childhood was anything but easy. In fact, the actress was in and out of rehab, sought emancipation from her mother, and even attempted suicide — all before the age of 14.
“I am crying watching Drew watch her younger self,” another person commented. “Like she has so much love for little her and it makes me love little me too.”
A third person added, “That actually kind of made me sad knowing she had zero guidance. But she survived and is thriving!! Happy for her ❤️”