Jonah Hill Says Meryl Streep Thought He Was Calling Her a Goat When He Said She Was 'the G.O.A.T'

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Jonah Hill recently got some wires crossed while expressing his admiration for Meryl Streep.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show Monday, the 37-year-old explained that it was an honor to work with the legendary actress for their upcoming film Don't Look Up, and he often referred to her as the G.O.A.T.

However, he recently realized the compliment hadn't been received as he intended.

"Meryl Streep's actually cool," Hill told host Jimmy Fallon. "And she's the best actor. In fact, so we've been doing press for this movie, and in the interviews the past couple of days, I keep saying, 'Oh, and you know, getting to work with Meryl, she's the G.O.A.T.' Right? Which, if you know, stands for 'greatest of all time.' "

He continued, "And Meryl, to me, she is the G.O.A.T. She's the greatest of all time. Then, today, we're doing a press conference and she's like, 'You know, and Jonah is so comfortable with me, he's been calling me a goat all week.' And I'm like, 'What the f---?' "

RELATED: Jennifer Lawrence Says Don't Look Up Costar Jonah Hill Improvised 'Amazing' Insults at Her

Hill went on to explain that their co-star Jennifer Lawrence had to clear things up, letting Streep know what the acronym meant.

"She's so cool, she wasn't even offended by it," Hill concluded. "She was just like, 'I guess he loves me and is calling me a goat.' "

Lawrence also shared her side of the hilarious story during her interview with Stephen Colbert for The Late Show on Monday night.

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"We just offhandedly call Meryl the G.O.A.T," Lawrence said. "We were doing a photoshoot and Meryl said, 'That's right, just tell the old goat where to go.' "

Lawrence added that she was quick to clarify that Streep's cast members were not referring to her as a farm animal: "I was like, 'Meryl, you know that G.O.A.T means 'greatest of all time.' We haven't just been calling you goat!' "

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Adam McKay's apocalyptic comedy Don't Look Up is available to stream later this month. The star-studded cast also includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Ariana Grande, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, and Timothée Chalamet.

Last month, Lawrence praised Hill for his improv skills in his role as the son and chief of staff to Streep's U.S. president.

"He is the worst," Lawrence said of his character, adding that it was "really hard filming with Jonah and just not ruining take after take laughing."

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"We one time dedicated an entire day to him just improving insults at me. It was amazing. He and Meryl are the only ones who should do that kind of improv," she said, adding, "He's a comedic master. We all did some stuff, but not as well as Jonah."

Don't Look Up debuts in select theaters on Dec. 10 and becomes available to stream on Netflix on Dec. 24.