Was Whoopi Goldberg Nervous to Walk in Opening Ceremony's NYFW Show?

Whether it's a runway lined with sports cars, a one-night only performance of a fashion show-play hybrid, or models purposefully (and gracefully) falling on the runway, Opening Ceremony always knows how to make a statement during New York Fashion Week, and this fall was no exception. The design house put on a politically-inspired "Pageant of the People" for its Fall II & Winter 2016 show on Sunday, September 11. 

Hosted by Portlandia duo Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, the beauty-pageant-subverting "Pageant of the People" featured a star-studded group of contestants , including Rashida Jones, Natasha Lyonne, and Aubrey Plaza, who showed off Opening Ceremony's collection on the catwalk before discussing important political issues.

Opening Ceremony's Fall II & Winter 2016 show featured (from left) Rashida Jones, Natasha Lyonne, Alia Shawkat, Rowan Blanchard, Jessica Williams, Diane Guerrero, Aidy Bryant, Aubrey Plaza, Sarah McBride, Whoopi Goldberg, and Fred Armisen. 

One of the most notable participants was none other than Whoopi Goldberg, who stopped the show wearing a black midi-length, off-the-shoulder dress adorned with ruffles at the top and bottom. The EGOT winner surprised the crowd in the finale to speak about the importance of voting in the upcoming presidential election "because if you don't vote, you can't bitch," she said during the show, according to Opening Ceremony's Instagram profile.

"Only in America can a girl like me find myself walking on a stage like this," Whoopi said during the show, as reported by TIME.

Though Whoopi kept her cool as usual on the runway, she told The Lookbook that she was actually screaming on the inside. "I love Opening Ceremony. They put me in a dress, so I was kind of screaming really high-pitched when I was walking thinking, 'Why am I in a dress? Why am I in a dress? I don't have a bra on. I hate bras.' That's all I was thinking," she told The Lookbook on the red carpet of the premiere of the new Oxygen series Strut on Monday, for which she serves as executive producer. 

Whoopi brought her effortless cool to the Opening Ceremony runway.

Whoopi said she didn't feel nervous about working the runway, just "uncomfortable" about wearing a dress since she hasn't worn one in so long. "It was something to get used to," she said. 

But despite any discomfort she may have felt during the "Pageant of the People," Whoopi said she still had a good time. "I thought, 'Oh well. That was fun.' So I was very happy," she said. "You know, I'm lucky enough to get asked to do wild stuff and wonderful stuff and so I was quite happy."