Celebrity Sheryl Lee Ralph reveals Rihanna secretly called her to model lingerie "At first I was a little bit nervous," the Emmy-winning Abbott Elementary actress said. By Joey Nolfi Joey Nolfi Entertainment Weekly's Oscars expert, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' beat reporter, host of 'Quick Drag' Twitter Spaces, and cohost of 'EW's BINGE' podcast. Almost all of the drag content on this site is my fault (you're welcome). EW's editorial guidelines Published on November 1, 2022 10:31AM EDT The Emmy-winning star of Abbott Elementary is about to give a lesson on modeling lingerie thanks to Rihanna. Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph revealed Tuesday on Live With Kelly & Ryan that the upcoming 2023 Super Bowl halftime show headliner secretly called her to enlist her skills for the fourth volume of her annual Savage X Fenty runway show. "I got a call from Rihanna. Yes, Riri," the 65-year-old said. "It's through her, to the people, to you. It's basically, 'Ask her if she'd walk in the Savage show,'" Ralph said, attempting to channel the speaking voice of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack singer. "Of course I can't do a Barbadian accent. I can do a much better Jamaican. But, to hear that you've been requested by her — and, trust me , this is no Victoria's Secret fashion show, baby. This is something on a different level. When I saw the choreography and I saw her vision that she had, walking through the mountains and all, I was like, alrighty, then. This is special." Sheryl Lee Ralph reveals Rihanna secretly called her to model lingerie. Robin L Marshall/Getty Images; Amy Sussman/WireImage Ralph promised that she "will be strutting, baby" when it comes to performing on the lingerie brand's streaming special, which also stars Anitta, Cara Delevingne, Joan Smalls, Simu Liu, Taraji P. Henson, RuPaul's Drag Race queen Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté, and more. "At first I was a little bit nervous, I was like, 'Oh, I wonder if Sen. Hughes is going to be a little bit nervous [because] he knows nothing of this," Ralph continued, joking that her 66-year-old husband, a Pennsylvania politician, was unaware of her temporary transition to runway modeling. Ralph will work the Savage X Fenty runway when the event hits Prime Video on Nov. 9. Check out our daily must-see picks — plus news, celeb interviews, trivia, and more — on EW's What to Watchpodcast. Related content: Abbott Elementary viral cold open was inspired by Sheryl Lee Ralph's real-life mix-up RuPaul's Drag Race queen Kornbread to star in Rihanna's Savage X Fenty runway show Class dismissed! We drank three rounds with the cast of Abbott Elementary