Will & Grace fans will never forget Madonna‘s iconic 2003 cameo, and Debra Messing remembers it for a hilarious reason.
The actress, known for playing Grace Adler on the rebooted NBC comedy, revealed that when Madonna arrived to film her cameo, it was so clear she had no idea who any of the cast members were that they decided to have some fun at her expense.
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“Madonna didn’t have a clue who we were, and she could not remember our names, so I told her mine was Rachal,” Messing told Graham Norton, as first reported by Page Six.
“She said, ‘Really?’ That is my Kaballah name,’ I said, ‘How about that!’ so for the rest of the week she called me Rachal.”
“When she finally realized that wasn’t my name, she sent me roses with a note written to ‘Dear Debra.’”
Co-star Eric McCormack, who plays Will, also has the same issue with Madonna and says she was so desperate to remember his name she almost took some extreme measures.
“The same thing happened to me and she sent flowers and a note saying, ‘If my husband [Guy Ritchie at the time] would let me, I’d tattoo your name on my arm.”
Madonna made an appearance on the show 15 years ago as Karen’s (Megan Mullally) roommate Liz in an episode called “Dolls and Dolls.”
While the pop superstar hasn’t been tapped to return to the Will & Grace reboot yet, other stars like Molly Shannon have reprised their roles in the beloved comedy series.
A pop star visiting the show soon is Jennifer Lopez, who will be playing herself, as well as make an appearance Harlee Santos, her character from NBC’s Shades of Blue in an upcoming episode of the series.
For those that may not remember, Lopez appeared in three episodes of Will and Grace’s original run as herself. She was in the final two episodes of the sixth season, when Karen married Lyle Finster (John Cleese.) In the story, Lopez had grown up with Karen’s maid, Rosario (Shelley Morrison) back in the Bronx. At the wedding, she ended up singing “Waiting for Tonight,” giving Jack (Sean Hayes) a chance to fill in for one of her back-up dancers.
Along with Messing and McCormack, the series also stars Mullally and Sean Hayes.
The show will be back with all new episodes March 1 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.