There are behind-the-scenes tales from Hollywood that are too tall to believe, but then there’s Nick Jonas’ recent tale about his past Scream Queens co-star Glen Powell. It’s about borrowed trousers, lost plane tickets, and the kind of coinciding that a buddy comedy script would never imagine.
Jonas got the chance to be on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and made a comeback to a bizarre moment earlier this year that he still finds hard to believe in. Jonas had finished a show earlier this year in February and went back to his dressing room, and when he went into his pocket, he felt something he wasn’t expecting. He retrieved a torn-up ticket and lo and behold, it was an airline ticket. Not his ticket. It was the property of Glen Powell.
The crowd roared with laughter, and Fallon recalled the tale of Jonas’ first Instagram post on the story. On his blog, Jonas made a joke of it during the time, but when he actually said it in person it had another layer of jocularity. Jonas said that often, fashion houses rent out garments to celebrities for TV presentations and events. It is a standard practice that is adopted to ensure that stars do not need to personally own each and every item that they wear on camera. Here Jonas was on loan with a pair of pants for his show. What he didn’t know is that these trousers would be miss-issued to Powell for a different photo shoot before they reached him.
At some point, the pants went back to the brand, were cleaned, and then sent back out to Jonas. However, it seems that the inside pocket was not cleaned. Jonas put his hand in and saw the plane ticket was still folded up and waiting. He said that Powell is a good buddy of his, and that made it even funnier, But Jonas didn’t seem to be annoyed by all this randomness; rather, he seemed to be fascinated by it.
But Fallon couldn’t help but think of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, albeit for men, which is why he jokingly said that it was the same thing. He named it the Brotherhood of the traveling petticoats. Jonas laughed, “I think it’s a good idea, that movie with he and I would get made.” Fallon began immediately throwing itself his offer, that he’d like to join as a third friend, and the two joked about making a “mishap” in the outfit a full film franchise.
Then Fallon tossed out a throw that went the entire nine yards. He asked Jonas if he left a note for Powell when he took the pants if they ever came back to him. Fallon had a pen and a tissue on hand, and said to Jonas, “You haven’t thought of that, come on the show and use this one.” Jonas wrote a short little funny note that was going to be sent to Powell “through whatever weird chain of borrowed clothes” he had on when he was in the jacket.
The best part about this story is that it’s simple and straightforward. Everyone who has ever borrowed a coat from a friend or had a used clothing has found something in a pocket they didn’t expect. Lost receipts, old shopping lists, even some old cash. That a plane ticket from another celebrity you’ve worked with popped out of his own pair of designer trousers which were delivered via a revolving door of stylists and air travel from Powell’s legs to Jonas’s is absurd — only Hollywood can pull that off.
The story also does a great job of highlighting how the entertainment industry treats fashion, from a practical perspective. Stylists and publicists borrow pieces from luxury brands to outfit their clients for red carpets, late night shows and press tours. They break down, they’re returned, they’re cleaned, and once again they’re sent to someone else. It’s efficient and sustainable, but it’s not perfect, as Jonas learned. A small piece of paper in a pocket can last through dry cleaning, shipping and hands before it falls into the wrong hands at the right time.
It’s also cool to see how Jonas and Powell have dealt with it. Both appeared undaunted or annoyed. Rather, they embraced the jest. But has Powell ever come out and said anything about the incident? Well, he’s a known easy-going guy who’s fond of a good joke, so it’s likely he found it as funny as everyone else. They’re both actors who have some experience in farcical genre shows like Scream Queens and perhaps a bit of real life absurdity isn’t out of place for them.
The only negative aspect of the story is that it leaves people wondering how often such an occurrence occurs. How many jackets, trousers and blazers are silently hiding traces of the celebrities that walked upon them just days ago? How many of those traces go unnoticed because the next person didn’t imagine to look in the pockets? Jonas stumbled across it and a late night story was born that will follow both actors for years to come.
