Tyler, The Creator Had No Idea Elizabeth Taylor Was an Actress

Grammy-nominated rapper just liked the actress for her taste in jewelry

By Samantha Schnurr Jul 25, 2017 3:41 PMTags
Tyler, The Creator, Stephen Colbert, The Late ShowYouTube

Well, this was a touch awkward. 

Turns out Tyler, The Creator had no idea Elizabeth Taylor was one of the most iconic actresses of all time. Instead, he just thought she had great taste in jewelry. 

During an appearance on The Late Show Monday night, the 26-year-old Grammy nominee got on the topic of accessories after Stephen Colbert asked him about the necklace he was wearing. 

"Elizabeth Taylor is my jewelry idol," he told Colbert. "Her use of coral is crazy. She's dead now though." 

From the sound of his remarks, it was almost as if Tyler, the Creator didn't realize quite how famous Taylor was. That became all the more clear when Colbert started talking about her most famous films, like one of her earliest, National Velvet

"She was in a movie?" Tyler retorted to the audience and host's shock. "See, I don't know her. I don't know all that stuff."

photos
Remembering Elizabeth Taylor, 1932-2011

"I found a book one day lurking in Barnes and Noble," he called. "[I] was like, 'Oh my God, this little white lady's got some nice stuff,' and called it a day."

Colbert couldn't believe what he was hearing and asked about her 1966 film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. However, it didn't ring a bell—at all. 

"Man, these quotes are really going over my head right now," Tyler quipped. So, to right this cinematic wrong, Colbert asked the rapper to get together and watch some of her films. 

"You're asking me on a date?" he responded. One handshake and it was a deal.