If you’re a fan of the FX show American Horror Story, then you might already be aware that Kathy Bates’ character Madame Delphine LaLaurie does a twisted version of a Baltimore accent.
Well she took it a step further on last night’s Conan, when she and the talk show host performed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” fittingly written here, in their best attempts at a Baltimore accent.
“I got to do the Baltimore accent on [AHS] Freak Show,” Bates told the talk show host. “And I got so much crap from linguists at Columbia. Like give me a break! I didn’t have a dialect coach or anything. In fact, this is how I used to warm up. I did ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ in my best Baltimorese, or Bawlmerese as they say.”
Then she pulled out two pieces of paper so they could both muster their best attempts at the accent. Bates, who has had much practice wasn’t bad. O’Brien, on the other hand, sounded more like a hybrid of baby talk, a Pittsburgh native, and an English cockney accent. Nice try, Coco!