Maya Rudolph has spoken to The Wall Street Journal about her awful experience on The Late Show With David Letterman, saying she was both "embarrassed" and "humiliated" during her 2009 appearance.
The 50-year-old actress landed her first acting gig in 2000 when she joined the featured cast of Saturday Night Live, later appearing in movies like 50 First Dates, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, and Grown Ups 2.
Since then, she's won four Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest acting in Saturday Night Live and voice-acting for the Netflix TV series Big Mouth.
However, despite her impressive credentials, the Florida native admitted recently that her appearance on David Letterman's late-night talk show over a decade ago was a less-than-positive experience, stating that she "did not have a good time."
The incident, which is viewable on YouTube, shows Letterman referring to Rudolph as 'Amaya,' before he apologizes to the actress after she sits down. "I'm sorry that I mispronounced your name, I'm just a boob. There's no excuse for it, and from the bottom of my heart I sincerely apologize," Letterman had said.
At the time, Rudolph had thanked him for the apology, however, it seems now she does not look back upon the memory fondly.
"He said my name wrong, and I just sat there, like, I grew up my whole life in love with you. And now my heart is broken. And I'm sitting here embarrassed and humiliated," Rudolph told journalist Clover Hope.
She added: "I didn't know how to handle it. I didn't know how to come up with something funny to say. My public persona muscle wasn't strong yet."
During the interview, the former improv actor noted that she struggled with public appearances during the early days of her career, saying: "It would always feel like someone was stealing my soul. That's where, over the years, I created a persona to protect myself."
"I've definitely gotten much better. When I'm uncomfortable, I try to be funny," she said.
Despite a twenty-something year career in the acting industry, Rudolph did admit that she finds it difficult to see herself as a celebrity, revealing: "I know I'm a working actor and people know who I am, but I don't feel like a celebrity, because that word means something else today to me."
"There are a lot of different types of celebrities these days and a lot of self-made celebrities where people are famous for being famous, and that isn't what I do," she concluded.
The actress, who was pregnant with her second child during her Letterman appearance, shares four children with her husband Paul Thomas Anderson - Pearl, 17, Lucille, 12, Jack, 11, and Minnie, 9.
She did state in her interview that her role as a mom takes priority over anything else, telling the outlet: "Believe me, I am not a Pollyanna who's like, I smile all day, every day. I get stressed out, I get pissed off, but I learned I could make a choice for myself, and it’s liberating. Maybe people who've worked as long as I have make other choices and have nicer cars. I don't know, but it's so important for me to [try to] have that balance."
