Celebrities, they’re just like us! Especially when it comes to meeting royalty like Rihanna.
During his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week, Winston Duke opened up about what it was like meeting Rihanna back in 2019. The actor stars in the upcoming blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which features songs by the musician-turned-makeup-mogul on its soundtrack.
“I got to meet Rihanna in 2019… I have to say I never get starstruck and that was the night,” Duke told Fallon on Monday. “I had a lot of, like, plans in my head for years because we’re both Caribbean – I’m from Trinidad and she’s from Barbados. I had all these ideas, I’m like ‘I’m gonna chat her up on Carnival, crop over, talk about art…”
But, after introducing himself to the singer, Winston said she looked at him and replied: “I’m aware of who you are… I know exactly who you are.”
That wasn’t what the actor was expecting, which resulted in him losing all train of thought and “folding.”
“I folded like fresh laundry, my friend, I was done” he told the late night host.
After stumbling over his words some more, Duke said he nervously asked Rih “where do you come from?”, to which she replied, “My house.”
While Duke admittedly gets pretty nervous around Rihanna, he’s set to show off his M’Baku bawwdyyy in the Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4. He’ll be appearing alongside fellow Marvel star Simu Liu, Damson Idris, Irina Shayk, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Taraji P. Henson, and more when the show debuts November 9 on Prime Video.