Wilmer Valderrama Didn't Know What One Of That '70s Show Catchphrases Meant
"That '70s Show" was a highly popular series when it aired in the late '90s and early '00s, becoming one of the more notable sitcoms on broadcast television. The show embraced its time period and all of the nostalgic factors that came with it, focusing mainly on a group of teenagers who were trying to navigate their lives as high school students while also dealing with their interpersonal relationships. It's certainly not the first show in history to do this, but the '70s aesthetic and interesting characters set it apart from other shows in the genre.
One of the more interesting characters was Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), an exchange student who becomes a central part of the friend group. Hailing from an unnamed country, Fez remained on the series all the way until the end, unlike other major characters who came and went throughout. However, when it comes to the actual comedy of the series and one of the bigger catchphrases, Valderrama himself was originally confused over what one of these actually meant.
Valderrama had no idea what 'whore' meant
As many fans of "That '70s Show" are likely already aware of, one of Fez's big character catchphrases on the sitcom was to simply call other characters a "whore." Like a lot of other elements in the series, it became fairly popular with the fanbase. But perhaps the most interesting part of this is that Wilmer Valderrama had no idea what the word even meant for the first few seasons of the series. The actor admitted as much during an interview on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."
"It's really funny 'cause the first three years of the show, you know, I didn't know what the meaning of the word 'whore' was," Valderrama said. "And I was just calling everyone ... the parents and everyone [whore]."
Valderrama even recounted a time when he was in North Carolina at a restaurant, and the waiter refused to take his order until he called her the word. While it may be shocking for some to realize that the comedian had never heard the word before "That '70s Show," it's important to keep in mind that his father is Venezuelan and his mother is Colombian. He also spent a significant part of his early childhood growing up in Venezuela, so this language barrier makes sense, especially for a younger Valderrama.