Teyana Taylor clears the air about Leonardo DiCaprio’s animated Golden Globes moment that took social media by storm, revealing that the viral clip didn’t quite unfold the way fans originally thought.
The actress and singer addressed the buzz during her performance on The Tonight Show on Wednesday, January 14, where she continued to celebrate her first ever Golden Globe win.
The clip in question, shared on the ceremony’s official TikTok page, showed DiCaprio laughing and gesticulating enthusiastically during the broadcast, leading many viewers to assume he was chatting with Taylor.
She admitted that she initially thought the same thing.
“Okay, so look, yesterday I thought I broke the Da Vinci Code, didn’t I?” Taylor told Jimmy Fallon, referencing her previous comments suggesting they were dating KPop Demon Hunters during the show.
Taylor explained that her excitement stemmed from the fact that her daughters, Iman “Junie” Tayla Shumpert Jr., 10, and Rue Rose Shumpert, 5, are big fans of the Netflix animated film, which won Best Picture (Animated) and Best Original Song that night.
At first glance, she assumed DiCaprio was reacting to her.
“So when I first saw it, I didn’t see the whole thing. So I thought, ‘Oh, you’re talking about Kpop Demon Huntershe’s talking about me,” she said.
But after watching the entire clip and watching fans try to lip-read the exchange, Taylor realized she needed answers.
She picked up the phone and called her longtime friend.
“I was like, ‘You can’t talk to me, did you talk to me?’ Because I already told people that you were talking to me,” she admitted.
According to Taylor, DiCaprio had apparently discussed KPop Demon Hunters more than once that evening.
“So he obviously had two KPop Demon Hunter conversations that evening, then KPop Demon Hunters was just in his mouth all night,” she joked.
The situation sparked some playful jealousy on Taylor’s part.
“Who else do you chew your invisible gum with?” she teased, adding that DiCaprio didn’t even remember who he’d been talking to at the table.
Despite the confusion, the moment only added to the buzz surrounding their film One match after anotherwhich picked up four Golden Globe wins, including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Taylor’s award for her role as Perfidia Beverly Hills.
Both stars are now heading into the 2026 Actor Awards on March 1 with individual nominations, proving that even a misguided viral moment can end on a high note.
