Amy Poehler may have a decades-long connection with Tina Fey, but she understands Jimmy Fallon came first.
Poehler, 53, expressed her feelings during an appearance with Fey, 54, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ahead of SNL50: The Anniversary Special.
The matter surfaced when Fallon, 50, addressed their history on Saturday Night Live, where they co-hosted “Weekend Update.”
As fans may recall, once Fallon left the show, Poehler joined Fey behind the legendary television news desk in 2004. Before that, Fallon and Fey co-hosted the satirical program from 2000 until 2004.
“We’ve been friends for over 30 years, and we’ve been together doing stuff a lot, but I was — I’m kind of like Tina’s second wife because you guys did it first,” Poehler told Fallon, to which Fey hilariously said, “Yes, that true.”
“I came in, and I got all the second wife goodness,” Poehler joked, making the audience chuckle. From 2004 to 2006, the actress co-hosted “Weekend Update” with Fey, followed by Seth Meyers from 2006 to 2008.
While Fallon psyched Poehler up by assuring her she “crushed the whole thing” and “just owned it,” she admitted to feeling frightened at first.
“I remember watching you guys and being like, ‘Wow, that seems hard. I hope I never have to do that,'” said Poehler.
Fallon remembers being impressed with Poehler’s talent after seeing one of her comedic sets with Fey.
“I had never seen a performer like you in my entire life,” he recalled. “I was blown away. I go, ‘Oh, my God. Who is this person?’ You’re [Fey] like, ‘ This is my friend Amy, dude.’ And I go, ‘There’s no one funnier. I’ve never seen anything like you ever.’ “
Poehler, however, joked that she got cast on the show due to her friendship with Fey.
“I got cast because I was technically a nepo friend,” said Poehler. “Tina got me the job 100%. Vouched for me in every way. And I was joking backstage. I was like, ‘SNL feels like college to me. Like, I would never get into it now.’ “
