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Between a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover appearance and a post-Super Bowl double date with Kimye at Waffle House, Chrissy Teigen taped 10 episodes of the new Spike TV series Lip Sync Battle, which premieres tomorrow. Back at her New York City apartment after frolicking in St. Barts with Oscar-winning husband John Legend, Teigen talked to Esquire over the phone, debriefing us on lip-synching, bombing as a late-night magician, getting comfortable with President Obama, and her Saturday night antics.
Esquire: Congratulations on being named cohost of the Billboard Music Awards.
Chrissy Teigen: Thank you! I was just reading my tweets and everyone was like, "Oh my God, could there be a more random fucking choice?" And I'm like, "Yeah, you. You would be a more fucking random choice." [laughs] Like everything I fucking do is random. That means I can only be allowed to be on a beach in a swimsuit. Let me live!
How was your weekend? I saw on Twitter than you threw up corn nuts.
Oh yeah. I was in St. Barts for a week or so and then I came to New York to do our big Lip Sync Battle press week. So Saturday night—I like to stay in—and I had gone to Grand Central for the first time ever and there's a toy store which has every archaeology kit and science kit. So I bought out the place. Saturday night, got a few bottles of wine and cranked right through them all. And apparently had corn nuts. I tweeted something about corn nuts at the airport and every time I come to my apartment I have the most random boxes of things that I previously tweeted about, but I don't even remember the tweets. I have a three-foot-tall bottle of Cholula, I have fucking 10,000 pounds of corn nuts. Like all the PR companies send them, like if I just mention them in passing. It's the most random thing. And even if I make fun of it on Twitter, they still send it. I don't get it.
On Lip Sync Battle, what does the winner receive?
Well first of all, the glory of it because people are egotistical. They take this seriously. They come to win, and they're hurt when they lose. They're kind of emotional when they win. It's very cool, I love to see it.
There's no mirror-ball trophy like on Dancing with the Stars?
It's basically a custom-made wrestling belt, and it's a million pounds, and by the third episode of it I couldn't even lift it anymore.
As the show's color commentator, what are some dos and don'ts for competitive lip-synching?
Don't forget that it is all about lip-synching! A lot of people don't do the lip movements enough, and sometimes they get so into the performance and the dancing that they forget the talent that goes with matching those words. Especially if they're doing a crazy rap. So as cool as it is to see them dance around, you've gotta bring the lips. Also, you can ask for anything you want, and I think some celebrities were really thrown off by that—they'd be like, "Wait, I didn't know we could have a wrecking ball!" Or "I didn't know we could have a marching band!" 'Cause in the second round, anything goes.
What would be your ultimate Lip Sync Battle matchup?
I would have loved seeing like someone battle their ex or something. Or something that was kind of public where they hate each other. Lindsay Lohan would be awesome to have on. People that are friends in the industry are very cool to have, too. I think Taylor Swift would have so much fun with it.
Are you a musical person? Do you sing or play any instruments?
John claims I can keep a note. [To John] Is that the word? I don't even know the term. Hold a tune? Hold a note? Hold a tune, he says. But I'm very good—and this is my only secret talent—I can hear the first beat of a song and I know the entire song. I know exactly what it is. My ear for repetition is very on point. I can't sing, I can't memorize things, everything else I just shit myself.
What's your karaoke song?
I don't like karaoke. But maybe that's why I'm so perfect for Lip Sync Battle, because I get to still hear the song I love and watch the performances that I love without having to hear someone sing.
Says the wife of this year's Best Original Song winner. Where's the Oscar?
The Oscar is right in front of me. It's on the right-hand side of John's little baby grand in New York here. It's lonely up there, though.
Maybe he'll get EGOT.
I know, we'll see! The Tony's going to be easy for him I think.
He's got plenty of Grammys.
I don't know what we're gonna do for the Emmy. I'll share—I'll get the Emmy, and then we'll have a family EGOT. I wonder if I get an Emmy if—do we all get Emmys if the show gets an Emmy? How does that work?
Will you ask John what he thought of your magic tricks on Jimmy Kimmel Live!?
John, what'd you think of my magic? From Jimmy? [John says something in the background.] Oh, he was backstage for that and I came back and I was like, "Well that was a fucking disaster" and he goes, "We were all dying back here." Like it could not have gone worse. [At the show] they didn't tell me what we'd have time for. These tricks I had never done before, and I was practicing like 20 minutes beforehand. And then we kind of decided it was funnier if it failed but I still wanted one [trick] to do well. Jimmy was like, "Oh my God, you're horrible." He said, "The only reason we're letting you get away with this is because you look like that."
Last question: Any anecdotes about hanging out with [Selma executive producer] Oprah?
Oh gosh. I don't know! I don't think I'm the right person to ask. I tend to treat everyone like equals. That is my downfall, though, because Oprah is Oprah, and Barack is Barack, and you've gotta come in with a certain level of respect and admiration and love while still having that respect. Look at them—these people are, at this point, royalty. I think I get a little too chummy. I always feel like everybody's an old friend. Like I should not be patting the president on the back.
You patted the president on the back?
I've ran up to him before like, "What have you been up to?!" I should never, ever meet the Queen or anything. It'd just be a disaster.
