S Poddar
A since-deleted TikTok revealed Saturday Night Live (SNL) star Chloe Fineman that Elon Musk, who hosted SNL in May 2021, is the mystery host who once brought her to tears. Her revelation followed an ambiguous hint by SNL co-star Bowen Yang two months prior that an unnamed guest host had reduced several members of the cast to tears.
Yang revealed on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen that this host had gone to town and trashed several sketches before the table read made for an emotional day at the cast. He wouldn’t name names, but Fineman has now verified Musk was that host. Musk had reopened old wounds when he went on X (formerly Twitter) to lambast SNL after Dana Carvey did his impersonation. According to Musk, SNL “hasn’t really been funny in decades”. According to him, the show “had been dying slowly for years” and further claimed the show of losing its grip with reality.
Fineman responded to the matter in a video on TikTok: “I just saw some news article about Elon Musk being like butt-hurt about SNL and his impression, but I’m, like, you’re clearly watching the show. Like, what are you talking about?” She added, “And I’m like, you know what? I’m gonna come out and say at long last that I’m the cast member that he made cry. And he’s the host that made someone cry. Maybe there’s others.”
This is not the first time a hosting stint by Musk on SNL has sparked mixed feelings from cast members and fans. During this episode, Musk’s unorthodox sense of humor and outspoken personality led to moments described as awkward by some and funny by others as they made him a memorable yet contentious host. Fineman’s response arrived right after Musk made more high-profile attacks. Among others, it included his jibes against the supposed political orientation of SNL, as well as its latest sketch on Vice President Kamala Harris. On top of that, he said that the efforts to reach people of the show were not proper, further perpetuating opinions about the current irrelevance of SNL and its current state of comedy.
Fineman shared with her followers what working on a sketch for Musk’s episode was like in a TikTok video. She said she sat up all night putting effort into the material. The excitement proved to be a dud as it followed Musk’s reaction. “I was so excited I came in, I asked if you had any questions and you sat there staring at me like you were firing me from Tesla and were like, ‘It’s not funny,'” she recounted. Fineman revealed that even Musk went flipping through her script page by page, giving “very sharp” feedback. “You started pawing through my script, like flipping each page, being, like, ‘I didn’t laugh once, not one time,'” she said.
Ex-actress, however, did reveal that, owing to the ruff start, the sketch saw the air but was well-received by the audience. She said she could appreciate watching how Musk performed, though she wished that he had been more delicate in some of his comments. Fineman ended the piece with one last comment for Musk, stating “Have a little manners here, sir.” Her clip is an attempt to provide perspective to SNL’s process, including the tough job of working with name hosts who, themselves have their own thinking about comedy.
This incident underscores peculiar challenges members of the SNL face when a host like a dominant personality such as Musk appears on stage. Fineman’s anecdote touches on more general challenges creatives constantly face while working with public figures who often possess high stakes but lack an understanding or appreciation for the complexity of live comedy.
This has sparked a larger discussion among fans of the sometimes fraught dynamics between SNL cast members and the weekly guest hosts. For most, hosting SNL is a daunting experience, especially for those with little to no background in sketch comedy. For Fineman and her fellow cast members, the feeling of dedication to delivering fresh, humorous content week after week is enormous, but it’s the onset of their encounters with hosts like Musk that shine light on what can be a serious strain from the job.
Certainly, the controversy surrounding Elon Musk’s hosting experience, along with his scathing comments after the fact, add to the never-ending dialogue regarding SNL’s position and influence in American comedy. As the program continues on its seemingly endless run, such moments-both funny and tense-serve to highlight the show’s particular taste of spontaneity, creativity, and clashing creativity.
