Ryan Seacrest Left Confused by Carrie Underwood’s ’90s Reference on ‘American Idol’

American Idol Season 24 brought fans back to the iconic 1990s era with ’90s night in April 2026. And Carrie Underwood pulled out all the stops with her outfit. She dressed in head-to-toe pink, complete with pink platforms, choker necklace, and a half-up, half-down hairstyle that defined the decade. And her look was inspired by a character from Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. Unfortunately, host Ryan Seacrest didn’t seem to understand Underwood’s reference.

‘American Idol’ host Ryan Seacrest was left confused by Carrie Underwood’s ’90s reference

Carrie Underwood went all out with her ’90s look on American Idol. She wore a metallic pink minidress with a pink fur trim hitting mid-thigh. Her platform metallic pink shoes went perfectly with the look, as did her thick pink choker necklace and bright pink eyeshadow. Underwood also carried a tiny pink purse with pink Post-It Notes inside.

The country star modeled her look after Michele in the 1997 hit comedy Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. The film famously starred Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow as Romy and Michele. The two ditzy friends headed to their 10-year high school reunion together and created a lie about their lives to tell their classmates once they arrived.

Fans who grew up watching the film adored Underwood’s outfit, as she looked exactly like the iconic character. Unfortunately, it was clear that host Ryan Seacrest didn’t quite understand the reference. A clip posted to Underwood’s Instagram shows Seacrest questioning her tiny pink purse.

“Does that qualify as a purse?” Seacrest asks her.

“I don’t know,” Underwood says. “All I have in it are Post-Its. Anyway, if you know, you know.” In the film, Romy and Michelle pretend to have invented Post-It Notes to give the illusion of success to their former classmates.

“So, what are the Post-Its actually for?” Seacrest questions.

“Well, my best friend, Romy, invented Post-Its,” Underwood answers, continuing to run with the bit.

“Really? Wow,” Seacrest answers. “And Romy is retired now. I think Romy did all right.”

Fans in the comments noted how Seacrest clearly didn’t understand the reference.

“I’m quite disappointed that Ryan didn’t get it,” one fan commented.

“How did no one get this reference?!” another fan wrote.

“Obviously Ryan hasn’t seen Romy & Michele’s HS reunion,” yet another fan commented.