Gilmore Girls fans have caught their fair share of subtle references while rewatching the beloved series — including a few nods to one of its stars’ other projects.
Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel play the fast-talking mother-daughter duo of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore on the show, which ran for seven seasons from 2000 to 2007. Kelly Bishop portrays Lorelai’s mom, Emily, and viewers have noticed a surprising detail about the pop culture that exists within the Gilmore Girls universe.
Lorelai and Rory are known for their love of classic movies — from Casablanca to Sixteen Candles — but one particular reference has still stuck with fans all these years later.
In the season 2 episode “Presenting Lorelai Gilmore,” which aired in 2001, Rory and her boyfriend Dean (Jared Padalecki) are learning a dance for the upcoming debutante ball, which Rory agrees to participate in at Emily’s request. When Lorelai and her ex Christopher (David Sutcliffe) surprise their daughter at the studio, Rory shares a less-than-promising update on their progress.
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“At one point, Miss Patty thought Dean was going to get hurt,” she says. “She made me sit in a corner and watch.”
Lorelai, with her impeccable comedic timing, replies, “Hey, ‘Nobody puts Baby in a corner.’”
The line isn’t lost on Us as a reference to Bishop’s 1987 film Dirty Dancing, in which she plays Marge Houseman, the mother of Frances, a.k.a. Baby (Jennifer Grey). The movie follows the Houseman family’s summer at a resort in the Catskills, where Baby meets handsome dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze).
For some fans, the Dirty Dancing nod is a head-scratcher. “Did Lorelai not suffer a stroke when she watched it?” one social media user teased, joking about Marge bearing a striking resemblance to Emily Gilmore.
Another viewer suggested that Dirty Dancing is perfectly aligned with Lorelai’s tastes, especially for its use of “retro music, Patrick Swayze, scandals” and “the potential for snooty vacationers to be shocked and appalled at any moment.”
Several seasons later, Rory makes yet another nod to the iconic film. “I’ll just come home, grab my outfit and we’ll go. I’m gonna need you to drive because I have to change in the backseat, Dirty Dancing-style,” she says in the 2007 episode “Will You Be My Lorelai Gilmore?”
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In the Netflix miniseries Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, the reference isn’t quite as on the nose — and actually involves Bishop herself. One scene shows Emily lacing up a pair of white Keds, which several eagle-eyed viewers have pointed out are the same sneakers Baby wears throughout Dirty Dancing.
Bishop previously opened up about her roles in both projects while marking the 30th anniversary of Dirty Dancing in 2017. “We had so much fun [making the movie] because we were isolated,” she recalled during a radio interview. “The first location was in Virginia. … We then later moved to North Carolina … It was cast and crew, we were kind of stuck together. So we really had fun, we had a wonderful time.”
She added, “We didn’t think it was going to be a great film. And we didn’t care, we were having a good time.”
When it comes to her performance on Gilmore Girls, Bishop reflected on how she made Emily as “hateful” as possible. “I’d played some unpleasant wealthy women before, I personally don’t like those women very much,” she said. “So, whenever I get the opportunity to play someone who’s really obnoxious, I really go for it.”
