Scarlett Johansson is not only an accomplished and award-winning actress, she’s a real jokester.
While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday, Nov. 17, the 38-year-old Asteroid City star was presented with the throwback video. It featured an interview she had on the 2006 Oscars red carpet that later went viral–not because of anything the actress did, but instead, what was going on behind her.
Before reviewing the tape with Johansson, Jimmy Fallon offered the following disclaimer: “This is real, take a look at this.”
In the clip, Johansson is busy chatting with an interviewer when a tall brunette cuts into the frame with a man, and the two begin walking behind the actress so as to not interfere with the cameras. As suddenly as she walked into the frame, the woman quickly disappeared while the man continued on his path.
Astonished by what she just saw, Johansson looked at Fallon and said, “Oh my god, that is my mom.”
With his jaw on the floor, Fallon remained silent as Johansson repeated her statement, “That is my mom!”
“Wait, what?” the flustered 49-year-old comedian exclaimed before Johansson replied, “That’s my mom.”
“That woman with the dark hair is my mother,” she said as Fallon replayed the tape. “That’s my mom.”
“I have been looking for her for, like, the last 15 years,” Johansson joked.
While Fallon and the rest of the world were mind-blown by the “disappearing” woman, eagle-eye social media viewers quickly figured out a reasonable explanation for the viral clip: an optical illusion.
“The woman just stops behind Scarlett Johansson,” one top-liked comment read. “She doesn’t disappear.”
Another TikToker confirmed the theory, “you can see he [the man that had been walking behind Johansson’s mother] turned to get [past] her and you can see the corner of her dress.”
Spoiled jokes and mysteries aside, viewers had nothing but applause for Johansson, calling her a “good sport,” “iconic,” and someone who “understood the ᴀssignment.”