Drew Barrymore was escorted off stage during an interview event in New York City on Monday evening when a man tried to approach her.
And one of the heroes of the day was none other than Barrymore’s interview subject, actor and singer Reneé Rapp, who quickly rushed the talk show host and “Charlie’s Angels” actor backstage.
The pair shared the stage at 92NY, a nonprofit community center in New York, to discuss Rapp’s upcoming album, “Snow Angel,” when a man who identified himself as “Chad Michel Busto” yelled out at Barrymore and attempted to hop on stage, according to video from the event circulating online.
“You know who I am,” said the man, dressed in what appears to be a red and white Hawaiian shirt. “I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York City.”
Barrymore stared at the man, mouth agape with the microphone still held to her face, as several security guards swarmed the man. While Barrymore sat frozen, Rapp leapt up, and prompted her interview counterpart to stand and walk out as the pair embraced. “OK? OK?” the man yelled out, trying to gain confirmation of their apparent meeting.
“Well that was — ,” Barrymore could be heard from backstage before the microphones cut out.
With the stage empty, the audience murmured and laughed. An event staff member asked for a minute. After some time, the pair reemerged from backstage to a roaring applause.
“Well, I have a new definition of your sexiness, it’s that level of protectiveness — that went full ‘Bodyguard,'” Barrymore told Rapp before hugging her, referring to the 1992 romantic thriller. “You are my Kevin Costner.”
“I’ll be that,” Rapp responded with a large smile. The pair then continued their conversation about “windows being open … PR teams, and libidos.”
Rapp, who would later perform songs from her album at the event, was previously a guest on Barrymore’s daytime talk show as a part of the cast of HBO Max show “The Sex Lives of College Girls.”
In the young-adult dramedy, Rapp plays Leighton Murray, a posh member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at the fictional Essex College who begins to openly date women for the first time in Season 2 after coming out as gay to her roommates. It was announced last month that Rapp would exit the show after its third season, which is scheduled to premiere in November.
Aside from screen acting, Rapp also starred on the stage in the Broadway musical adaptation of “Mean Girls,” playing alpha Regina George.
Barrymore’s talk show has been on hiatus amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Previously recorded episodes had been airing in recent months. In May, she had also withdrawn from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards, citing the writers’ strike.
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