RORY: How did this happen [her getting into Chilton]? You didn’t . . . with the principal, did you?
LORELAI: No, honey, that was a joke.
Lorelai’s joke was possibly an allusion to the 1994 film Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis and with Tom Hanks in the title role. In the film, Forrest’s mother (played by Sally Field) has sex with the principal to persuade him to allow her simple-minded son (IQ of 75) to attend school. Forrest Gump was the #2 film of 1994, and won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 