Elon Musk is set to host Saturday Night Live on May 8, but the New York Post reports that some cast members don’t seem too happy about it.
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After the announcement, Musk wrote on Twitter “Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is,” to which SNL featured player Bowen Yang responded by posting a screenshot of Musk’s tweet on Instagram and writing “What the fuck does this even mean?”
SNL writer and featured player Andrew Dismukes posted a comment on Instagram that said “Only CEO I want to do a sketch with is Cher-E Oteri,” in reference to Saturday Night Live alum Cheri Oteri.
Repertory player Aidy Bryant shared an old tweet from Sen. Bernie Sanders that called the distribution of wealth a “moral obscenity.” Her post was widely interpreted at a dig at Musk due to the timing following the SNL announcement. When Bryant was later asked in an interview with USA Today whether the post related to Musk, she said, “I don’t really think there’s anything to clear up. I feel like this was a very overblown thing, and I don’t pick the hosts. I don’t have much to say about it, honestly. It’s my job, and I do my job. I look forward to it.”
According to Forbes, billionaire Musk is the second-richest person in the world, behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (a position that fluctuates based on stock prices). The serial tech entrepreneur and inventor is a founder of several companies including PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company.
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Page Six reported that an unnamed source at SNL said no one would be forced to perform who did not want to.
The musical guest on Saturday is Miley Cyrus.
Pete Davidson said he didn’t know why some people seem to be upset over the selection of Musk to host. “I don’t know why people are freaking out,” he said during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “I’m like, the guy that makes the earth better, kinda, and he makes cool things and sends people to Mars?”
Davidson said he would go to space if Musk asked, and in a different interview with Charlamagne tha God, Davidson said that Musk was really nice, and that he was excited about the show.
Davidson is an SNL repertory player and the star of “The King of Staten Island,” which also stars recent SNL guest host Bill Burr.
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SNL writer and Weekend Update anchor Michael Che also said that he was excited for Musk to host.
For his part, Elon Musk said that the “SNL cast and writers have been awesome so far,” while rehearsing.
Musk will be the first non-actor or non-athlete to host “Saturday Night Live” since Donald Trump hosted in November 2015 when he was running for president, but this won’t be his first time on screen. Musk has made several guest appearances in movies and TV shows, including: “Iron Man 2,” “Machete Kills,” “The Simpsons,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “South Park,” “Why Him,” “Young Sheldon,” “Men in Black: International,” and “Rick and Morty.”
Must was an executive producer on the movie “Thank You for Smoking,” in which he made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo appearance.
Skit or Sketch?
One other (extremely mild) critique came from SNL repertory player Chris Redd. When Musk asked for skit ideas on Twitter, Redd replied by saying, “First I’d call Em sketches” with the tears-in-eyes laughing emoji.
That’s a weird thing to get precious about. “Skit” and “sketch” are synonyms that mean basically the same thing. But if you want to get pedantic about it, “skit” is the more appropriate word (regardless of what SNL calls them).
The first definition of “skit” is “a short comedy sketch of piece of humorous writing, especially a parody” whereas the first definition of “sketch” is “a rough or unfinished drawing or painting, often made to assist in making a more finished picture.” The second definition of “sketch” is “a short or humorous play or performance, typically consisting of one scene in a comedy program.”
Despite the critique, Redd reportedly joined Musk for a pre-show dinner along with SNL’s Loren Michaels, Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Chloe Fineman, Ego Nwodim, and Colin Jost.
According to Davidson, dinners with guest hosts were a regular thing pre-pandemic and this was the first in more than a year.
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