Not everyone was comfortable reckoning with the show’s demographic. “A lot of celebrities were terrified of coming on TRL,” says Tim Healy, the show’s head writer. “They were fine with Letterman or Conan because that was an adult audience, but they found TRL a challenge. I remember Mel Gibson rolling in, and he was not in the mood to be there. One of the recurring bits we did was having guests draw a self-portrait. And after his appearance — and it was an unnerving appearance — I looked at his drawing. It was terrifying, and in bold letters he’d written, ‘I offer you my decrepit soul.’”