Skip to content

Sarah Paulson Just Revealed the Guest List for a Celebrity "Make-Out Party"

"You were supposed to make-out with whomever you pulled out of the hat."

When Sarah Paulson appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday night, she talked about her latest roles, returning to in-person appearances for the first time since the pandemic began, and, unexpectedly, a celebrity make-out party she once attended. According to Paulson, many years ago, she was invited to a "make-out party" by the late Carrie Fisher. When she arrived, she found herself surrounded by A-list guests. Read on to see what Paulson had to say about Fisher, the origins of the party, and the TV star who wouldn't kiss her when they pulled her name out of a hat.

Sarah Paulson became fast friends with Carrie Fisher after meeting her at a party.

Sarah Paulson on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in June 2021
Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

During her interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Paulson spoke about her friendship with the late Fisher, who she met at a party at a Hollywood executive's home. She was told to go alone and was nervous. "It was this huge executive's house and had to walk into this cavernous hallway by myself. It was just awful," Paulson said. "But then Carrie Fisher arrived. I never met this woman, but she also came alone. She had glitter in her hair and like a [bottle] of spray glitter in her purse and sprayed everyone." That was the start of their decades-long friendship.

In 2017, Paulson interviewed Fisher's daughter, actor Billie Lourd, for Town & Country and also said that she and Fisher bonded at the executive's house because Paulson had recently worked on an episode of Touched by an Angel with Fisher's mother, Debbie Reynolds.

"Then we started an e-mail correspondence, and she had me come to this party at her house, and I basically didn't leave," Paulson told Lourd. "Your mom did that thing that your mom does where she was like—" Lourd suggested, "Move in with me." Paulson continued, "I did. I stayed. I was never really living there. I would spend the night, but I never had a toothbrush."

Paulson said Lourd, who's now 28, was "the coolest 10-year-old that ever existed."

RELATED: 13 Celebrities You Had No Idea Were Related.

The party Fisher invited Paulson to was a make-out party.

Carrie Fisher at the Venice International Film Festival in 2012
Matteo Chinellato / Shutterstock.com

Paulson told Kimmel that that night at the executive's party, she tried to not let on to Fisher that she was a "super fan." At the end of the night, as they were both driving off, Fisher rolled down her car window and yelled to Paulson, "Hey, do you want to come to a party?"

The party Fisher invited her to was called "Gore Vidal's make-out party" inspired by the writer and the wacky parties he threw. When she arrived, she saw that it was a huge party with guests like Queen Latifah and Shirley MacLaine, who starred in Fisher's movie Postcards from the Edge.

For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

When Matthew Perry pulled Paulson's name out of the hat, he walked out of the room.

Matthew Perry
Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency

"There was a hat with names in it and you were supposed to make-out with whomever you pulled out of the hat," Paulson explained. "Matthew Perry pulled my name out of the hat and then promptly left the room."

When Kimmel asked how Paulson knew he chose her name, she explained, "Because I saw him. He was like, 'Oh, well.' And he was like, 'I got you.' And I was like, 'Uh, well, let's kiss.' And he was like, 'No.'"

Paulson laughed and said that she and Perry "knew each other a little bit" through one of her best friends, so it was "awkward."

RELATED: The Friends Writers Helped Matthew Perry Ask Julia Roberts Out.

Paulson and Perry reunited for a kiss later onscreen.

Sarah Paulson and Matthew Perry at the 9th Annual Dinner Benefitting the Lili Claire Foundation at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2006
Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Years after their uncomfortable moment at Fisher's party, Paulson and Perry were both cast on the TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. On the show, which aired for one season, they played a former couple.

"Then we ended up playing romantic partners years later on a show called Studio 60, and then I got my kiss," Paulson told Kimmel. "I got several kisses. And, boy, did he regret not taking me up on it back at Gore Vidal's make-out party."

RELATED: 12 Onscreen Couples With Huge Age Gaps.

Watch the full interview between Kimmel and Paulson here:

 

Lia Beck
Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Best Life, she has written for Refinery29, Bustle, Hello Giggles, InStyle, and more. Read more
Filed Under