Drew Barrymore unveils N.J. surprise for a delighted Martha Stewart, who rebuffs handsy host

Martha Stewart’s appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” was stuffed with New Jersey pride.
Stewart, the subject of the Netflix documentary “Martha,” went on the CBS talk show to talk about the publication Tuesday of her 100th cookbook, “Martha: The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen.”
Barrymore also asked her about growing up in Jersey, and her hometown of Nutley. They talked about Elm Place, the street where Stewart lived, which was right around the corner from Yantacaw School, where she was a student.
“We had so much fun,” Stewart says. “That was a really nice school. And we knew all our neighbors, we would have meals at everybody’s house, it was a really nice street, Elm Place.”
Then Barrymore, 49, presented Stewart, 83, with a surprise.
Standing by live on that very street in Nutley were her niece Sophie, nephew Chris and the mayor of Nutley, John V. Kelly III, along with the town’s board of commissioners.
“We have a young mayor, that’s our mayor??” Stewart said, looking at Kelly. “I don’t remember any mayors being handsome like that.”
“You’re making me blush,” said Kelly, who became the town’s youngest mayor this year, at 39.
“I’m not kidding,” Barrymore said. “Everyone thinks you’re handsome, actually. Everybody’s talking about you.”
With that, Stewart pointed out her “handsome nephew” and “beautiful niece.”
They were all there to unveil a new street sign — Martha Stewart Place.
“One of the things I always say is that Nutley is destination in life,” Kelly said, “and it’s an important destination because of people like Martha who are from here who have had so much success in so many different fields. And we wanted to honor that legacy here in Nutley and so we took this unanimous act to do something in honor of Martha.”
With that, he revealed the new street sign.
Just a moment before the cover came off, Stewart had a question.
“Did the neighbors agree?”
Stewart seemed delighted by the gesture.
“That’s really thoughtful,” she told Barrymore. “I couldn’t think of a nicer gift, thank you so much.”
With that, Barrymore erupted with joy, letting out a high-pitched noise, falling back onto her couch and clasping her hands to her face.
“I’ve always written very fondly about Nutley,” Stewart said. “I have had no complaints about Nutley, ever … it was the nicest place to grow up.”
“Teachers could come home with you for lunch, and they always wanted to come to my house because we had really good food in my house. My mother was a great cook, big Martha. She taught sixth grade at the Lincoln School. I’m still stopped on the street by people saying ‘oh, your mom was my teacher.’ And I always ask ‘was she good?’ and they said ‘she was the best,’ always, isn’t that nice?”
“I think that you are such a teacher,” Barrymore replied.
“Oh yeah,” Stewart said. “I inherited it from my mother and my father.”
In another part of the show, Stewart had to gently intercede when the host overstepped a boundary.
Barrymore is well known for getting physically close to her A-list guests, embracing them, touching them, and generally doing away with the concept of personal space in interviews.
While she hugged Stewart various times throughout her appearance, the TV host, cookbook author and home guru checked her during the interview.
As Barrymore stroked Stewart’s back to illustrate the concept of “being treated like a lady,” Stewart pushed her away.
“You’re the wrong gender,” she said, laughing.
But speaking of Barrymore and New Jersey, there is one local place that has extended an invitation to the actor and talk show host.
The Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, a repertory movie theater and museum named for Barrymore’s famous family of actors, opened in 2022.
The center, which recognizes New Jersey’s place in film history as the first Hollywood, has highlighted the Barrymore family tree. At its center is John Barrymore, who had a huge role in the Fort Lee film scene. Drew Barrymore, his granddaughter, is part of that tree, but last we checked, she hadn’t visited.
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup.