Woody Harrelson Recalls Improvising ‘Larry Flynt’ Line About a Female Rocker Knowing Courtney Love Was ‘Jealous’ of Her

To get a rise out of his The People vs. Larry Flynt costar, Woody Harrelson tapped into the dynamic of Courtney Love vs. Alanis Morissette.

While guesting on the Thursday (Nov. 6) episode of Hot Ones, the actor — who professed to having a newfound respect for the show’s guests while struggling to get through bites of spicy hot wings — recalled how he improvised a line while filming the 1996 movie just to get under the Hole frontwoman’s skin. In a scene that made the final cut, Harrelson said, unscripted, “Alanis, I’ll be along in an hour and I’ll bring the ping-pong balls.”

On Hot Ones, Harrelson said that the line was in reference to a game of ping-pong he and Morissette had played in real life shortly before shooting the scene. “But I also know that Courtney had certain issues with Alanis,” he told host Sean Evans with a devious grin. “Because, you know, Courtney had her band, Hole, and then Alanis had the biggest record ever from a woman and was at her zenith.”

“I felt like she was quite jealous of Alanis,” the Cheers alum added. “I know she was. So, I also did that to kind of needle [her]. She likes a little fun, you know. Courtney don’t care.”

The year before The People vs. Larry Flynt hit theaters, Morissette released Jagged Little Pill. The era-defining LP is considered one of the most influential rock albums of all time and spent three full months at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, achieving a level of mainstream success that other women rockers — such as Love — hadn’t been able to reach.

In the biographical film, Love plays the wife of Harrelson’s character, pornographic magazine publisher Larry Flynt, who in real life won a landmark Supreme Court case protecting parody as a First Amendment right, despite any emotional distress caused.

Watch Harrelson’s full Hot Ones episode above.