The ladies of 2 Dope Queens, Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson, are doing big things.
The pair recently landed an HBO special, Williams’ The Incredible Jessica James landed on Netflix last year, and Robinson is a New York Times best-seller thanks to her book, You Can’t Touch My Hair (And Other Things I Still Have to Explain).
Recently, the ladies stopped by ESSENCE’s Yes, Girl!, where talk also turned to Oprah Winfrey.
The pair reflected on the media mogul’s Golden Globes speech, which sparked talk of Winfrey running for president–sorry, everyone, she’s not—and Robinson shared a hilarious story about getting a phone call from the icon.
“When my book came out last October, the day it came out my lit agent called me and was like, ‘Yeah, so I want to talk to you. So, Oprah has your book,'” Robinson told ESSENCE, admitting she was shocked that her book had found its way into Oprah’s hands.
“Why does she have my book? Why did she spend her dollars on that?” Robinson joked. “My agent goes, ‘She probably got it for free, it’s fine. She’s reading it and her team just wanted to let you know that she’s really enjoying the book.”
Robinson added, “I wrote the word peen a lot in there and if I had known Oprah was gonna read it I would have used technical terms from doctors and stuff, but I was like, ‘Peen this, peen that, uncut.’ (Laughs) So ignorant in the book.'”
The comedian and writer missed two phone calls from the media icon before she was finally able to get in touch with Winfrey.
“I got a random call and I didn’t pick it up because I was behind on student loans,” Robinson joked, adding that she eventually checked her voicemail believing it was just her parents, only to find out Winfrey left a message.
“‘Hi Phoebe, it’s Oprah as in Winfrey,’ Phoebe said, recalling Winfrey’s message. “‘I’m trying to call you but I realize it’s a blocked number and people don’t answer blocked numbers. So, I’m gonna unblock my home number and I’m gonna give you my cell number…You know, actually, I don’t know my cell number so I’m gonna find out what that is and I’ll text you.'”
Eventually, the pair linked up and Winfrey showered Robinson with praise. “She was so nice,” Robinson said. “She was like, ‘You’re a great writer, I’m so happy for you. I really enjoyed your book and I identify with so much of it.’ I still have the voicemail on my phone.”