Billy Crystal Recalls How Princess Diana Reacted to Meg Ryan’s Fake Orgasm inWhen Harry Met Sally

Mar. 15, 2025

Princess Diana; Billy Crystal.Photo:Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty

Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty

Billy Crystalis remembering the latePrincess Diana— and her unforgettable laugh!

While promoting his new seriesBeforeonThe Viewon Wednesday, Oct. 23, the comedy legend, 76, revealed the late Princess of Wales' reaction toWhen Harry Met Sally’s most iconic scene — which, if they had been dating, would’ve ruined the royal’s chances of a second date, he joked.

Princess Diana, who Crystal met at the romantic comedy’s 1989 London premiere, was “unbelievable” royal, he told the hosts. And her reaction toMeg Ryan’siconic fake orgasm scene? Even harder to believe — at least the way the comedian tells it.

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan meeting Princess Diana at the London premiere of ‘When Harry Met Sally’ in 1997.Princess Diana Archive/Getty

Princess Diana Archive/Getty

“There we are,” he recalled. “So we sit together. She’s on my left and Meg is on her left. So it’s me, [director Rob Reiner], Princess [Diana] and then Meg. So we sit down together in the balcony in the theater. And the trumpets are blaring as we walk in, which happens in every movie theater. And Meg’s like — she’s so cute — leaning in front like, ‘Do you believe who she is?’ It’s crazy.”

“And then the deli scene happens and the whole audience below us is now looking back to see how the princess is going to react to Meg faking the orgasm,” he explained, adding that he had no idea himself.

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in the fake orgasm scene from ‘When Harry Met Sally’.Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

“So she starts laughing — a big laugh,” Crystal said of Diana, mimicking a deep, throaty chuckle.

Diana’s laugh, he said, was “the kind of laugh that if we were dating, I wouldn’t see her again.”

“‘Cause I’d go, ‘The laugh. She’s beautiful but the laugh!’ ” he joked. “But it was spectacular, a spectacular evening, and so great to meet her.”

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The actor is “so proud” of the show and “had the best time” filming it, he told the hosts.

“It’s something I had been working on for years, and didn’t think I was going to play this pediatric shrink who is dealing with this incredibly traumatized little boy,” he said. “But to live in this world and to do a surreal psychodrama thriller was absolutely thrilling for me.”

Billy Crystal at the premiere of his new series ‘Before’.Michael Loccisano/WireImage

Michael Loccisano/WireImage

Plus, he noted, it’s a very different vibe than the exaggerated fake orgasms and emotional New Year’s Eve speeches ofWhen Harry Met Sally.

“This is a long way from ‘I’ll have what she’s having,' ” he said. “And I couldn’t be happier with it.”

source: people.com