Robin Thede stopped by last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote her new HBO comedy series, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and while she was telling Kimmel about how quickly the new show came together after her BET late-night series was canceled, she revealed the unexpected role Denzel Washington played in the whole saga. And it’s a good one!
While Thede and Issa Rae’s dinner with the HBO exec to pitch the series was already going pretty well, they got an extra assist later in the meal. “Then the waitress comes over at the end of the meal and she says, ‘The gentleman has taken care of the bill.’ And I was like, ‘The gentleman who?!’†Thede says. “And she wouldn’t tell us — she was just kind of cutting her eyes like ‘over there.’ And we look, and it’s Denzel Washington.†Thankfully, Kimmel gives Thede the space to finally thank Washington for his kind deed: “Denzel Washington, from the bottom of the heart, I want to say thank you for the Caesar salad I ate, and for the show that you essentially paid for,†she says, addressing the camera. “And next season, if we could have some more money, I would appreciate it.â€