In August, a video of a Rhode Island woman named Mary Halsey singing Missy Elliott’s 2002 hit “Work It” went viral. Predictably, Halsey ended up where so many a viral star takes their final stand : Ellen. On today’s episode, Halsey rapped her very white and admittedly endearing rendition of the song. But there was a surprise waiting in the wings while she put her thang down, flipped it, and reversed it: Missy herself.
There was surprise.
There was elation.
There was, uh, Kristen Bell???
There was Ellen awkwardly mouthing the words and wiggling from the sidelines.
There was a group hug.
And there was Halsey’s trusty shofar, a trumpet used in religious Jewish ceremonies. Halsey really loves the shofar! Maybe it’s good luck? Maybe she likens Missy Elliott karaoke to a religious experience? If so, wow, same.
Elliott tweeted about the video on August 8, calling Halsey her “funky white sister.”
And now, the moniker has been immortalized, online and courtesy of Degeneres in the form of a bedazzled jacket:
Happy belated Rosh Hashanah, y’all!