Hilary Duff joins Role Model as surprise guest at Austin City Limits

Hey now, hey now!

Hilary Duff shocked fans with a surprise appearance during Role Model’s performance at Austin City Limits on Friday. The 38-year-old Lizzie McGuire star joined the singer on stage as the latest celebrity guest to be his “Sally” during his song “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.”

Role Model, whose real name is Tucker Pillsbury, introduced Duff with a cheeky reference to the most iconic song from The Lizzie McGuire Movie, shouting, “This is what dreams are made of, baby!” — a nod to the 2003 track “What Dreams Are Made Of.”

Duff danced alongside the singer before the two musicians embraced on stage. Role Model then pointed to his guest as she walked off stage and waved goodbye to the crowd.

Role Model has made a habit of bringing various celebrities on stage during “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.” The tradition kicked off in February, when the singer welcomed TikTok star Jake Shane into his set in Dallas as part of an inside joke. 

“We had no plans to do this whole ‘Sally’ thing,” Role Model told Teen Vogue in April. “I knew right before the tour started that Jake Shane was going to be in Dallas at the same time doing the show, so we were like, ‘Oh, we should bring him out.’ And then online there was this rumor that started that ‘Sally’ was about Jake Shane.”

The singer went on to explain that he and Shane thought it’d be fun to “play into” the rumor and harken back to another pop singer inviting an iconic guest on stage. “[We’ll] have a silly Internet moment and do a ‘One Less Lonely Girl’ type of thing and bring back that moment from [Justin] Bieber,” he recalled thinking.

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Pillsbury continued the trend for subsequent concerts, first with artists like Ashe in Nashville and TikTokers like Grace O’Malley in Washington, D.C. Then came Wallows musician Dylan Minnette and Mean Girls star Renée Rapp at back-to-back Los Angeles shows.

At his concerts in New York, Role Model’s “Sally” guests included Natalie Portman, Bowen Yang, and Conan Gray. In Chicago, Olivia Rodrigo and music producer the Dare played the role. Kate Hudson filled Sally’s shoes at a show in Aspen, Colo., in August, and Al Roker did the honors when Role Model performed on Today shortly thereafter.

Duff announced last month that she will return to TV and music with a new docuseries and an album. The docuseries will offer “vérité footage, stylized interviews, performances, and videos from her personal archive” as the Lizzie McGuire alum gears up for her first stage performance in 10 years and works on an album with Atlantic Records after signing a new deal with the label.

“Embracing the ups, downs, and everything in between, fans will ride shotgun as she balances raising a family, recording new music, live show rehearsals, and preparing to perform on stage for the first time in over a decade,” the docuseries’ official synopsis reads.

Role Model will next perform at All Things Go in Toronto on Sunday, so perhaps an iconic Canadian will join him on stage (Alanis Morissette? Avril Lavigne? Drake?). He’s also set to perform as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on Oct. 11.