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Lady Gaga is having fun causing a little mayhem at 30 Rock, with the pop star hilariously airing out some of the Saturday Night Live cast members’ business in a new promo video posted ahead of her upcoming hosting stint.
In the clip shared Wednesday (March 5), Gaga — looking low-key in a black baseball cap and T-shirt — sits at a piano in the SNL break room and openly sings observations about the comedians who filter in and out. “Andrew Dismukes is ordering a breakfast sandwich at 2 p.m.,” she croons, playing some jazzy chords.
“Devon Walker is taking a big swing with a new hat,” the 14-time Grammy winner continues when the cast member enters wearing a camouflage cowboy hat.
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“OK, what?” a slightly offended Walker asks, to which Dismukes explains, “This is her process.”
The new video arrives just a few days ahead of Gaga’s return to the comedy series, with the musician set to serve double duty as host and musical guest on the Saturday (March 8) episode. It’ll come just hours after the release of her seventh studio album, Mayhem, the day prior.
The A Star Is Born actress previously pulled double duty on the show in 2013, which may be why she’s so comfortable on the premises in the new promo video. The clip ends with a pajama-clad Heidi Gardner leaving her office with disheveled hair, after which Gaga calls her out for “trying to pretend she isn’t sleeping here, but we all know she is.”
“And the question is, ‘Why?’” the musician belts, to which Gardner tries her hand at singing: “And the answer is bedbugs!”
It’s unknown which songs Gaga will perform this weekend, but Mayhem was led by a trio of singles — including Billboard Hot 100-topper “Die With a Smile” with Bruno Mars, “Disease” and “Abracadabra.” Also on Wednesday, fans got a taste of a new track on the LP: “Garden of Eden,” a portion of which ESPN debuted in a teaser for this year’s Formula One season while declaring the track its official anthem of 2025.
Watch Gaga put the SNL cast on blast in the new promo above.
Tate McRae made her return to Saturday Night Live on March 1, delivering a pair of standout performances from her latest album.
The 21-year-old pop star graced the stage for her second appearance on the iconic NBC sketch comedy show, captivating viewers with electrifying renditions of “Sports Car” and “Dear God.” Both tracks are from her third album, So Close to What, which was released on Feb. 21.
For her first performance of “Sports Car,” McRae stepped onto a stage filled with stacked metal chairs, surrounded by male dancers in suits who appeared to be snapping photos of her. Later in the episode, she returned to the same minimalist stage design for a slower, emotional performance of “Dear God.”
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Saturday’s episode was hosted by comedian Shane Gillis.
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McRae is fresh off the release of her latest album, So Close to What. The project features previously released viral singles like “It’s OK I’m OK” and “2 Hands,” as well as a collaboration with Flo Milli (“Bloodonmyhands”). The set also includes a track with McRae’s boyfriend, The Kid Laroi, titled “I Know Love.”
So Close to What follows her 2023 album, Think Later, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The album was bolstered by singles like “Greedy” and “Exes.”
The Canadian-born star first appeared on SNL in November 2023, with Jason Momoa as the pre-Thanksgiving episode’s host. She performed two songs, “Greedy” and “Grave,” to promote her then-upcoming sophomore album, Think Later.
Later this month, McRae will launch a world tour in support of So Close to What. The Miss Possessive Tour will begin on March 18 in Mexico City and will see the singer touring through Europe, Canada and North America until the end of September 2025. Special guests for the tour include Zara Larsson and Benee.
Watch McRae’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
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Eddie Murphy’s impression of Tracy Morgan during “Black Jeopardy” proved to be a major hit on Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special.
The iconic comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live celebrated 50 years on the air last Sunday (February 16), with one of its highlights being the return of “Black Jeopardy” featuring SNL veteran Kenan Thompson hosting as Darnell Hayes aka “Alex Treblack”. Eddie Murphy stole the show, appearing as Tracy Morgan while the real Morgan stood alongside him playing a man named Darius. Another SNL alum, Leslie Jones also played a contestant named Shanice.
“Welcome to ‘Black Jeopardy,’ the only ‘Jeopardy’ where every single viewer fully understood Kendrick’s halftime performance,” Thompson said, opening with a reference to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. As he introduced Eddie Murphy, who was dressed in a tracksuit similar to what Morgan wears, Murphy yelled out in an exaggerated voice uncannily like Morgan’s, “Big dog gonna make some big money!”
“Now wait a minute, Tracy. Don’t you already have a lot of money?” Thompson asked. “You gotta have a lot of money if you live like I live,” Murphy shot back. “I eat four-cheese lasagna. If they only got three cheeses, I ain’t eating it.” As Thompson tried to cut him short, Murphy stated, “I refuse to ingest three cheeses.” The sketch took another hilarious turn soon after.
“Darius, Tracy, y’all seem like you might be related,” Thompson said to Murphy, who replied: “Well, James Earl Jones is my biological father. James Earl Jones impregnated my mother on the set of ‘Claudine.’ You know what? We might be related.” The late James Earl Jones played Murphy’s father in the Coming To America movies. Morgan, dressed in a checkered short-sleeve shirt immediately replied looking annoyed, “I don’t see it.”
The sketch would take a couple more memorable comedic turns, with another SNL alum Chris Rock joining in for one question, joking that he was a fan since the 1970s when the show was called “Mama’s Got Questions”. His question asked the contestants to identify the Church Lady, a character fellow alum Dana Carvey played in the 1980s and 1990s. The answer was supplied by Tom Hanks, popping up as Doug, a MAGA supporter who he first portrayed on “Black Jeopardy” in 2016. MAGA Land didn’t like that.
Check out the entire segment above.
Lil Wayne made a surprise appearance at the SNL50: The Anniversary Special celebrations on Sunday night (Feb. 16) where he performed a greatest hits medley from his decorated Tha Carter series. From “Mrs. Officer” to the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Lollipop” and closing out with “A Milli,” Weezy jumped around his discography with […]
Lady Gaga is about to bring the mayhem to 30 Rock, with the superstar locked in to pull double duty on Saturday Night Live for the second time in her career one day after her new album drops. As announced Tuesday (Feb. 18), Gaga will both host and serve as musical guest on the sketch […]
At the SNL50 anniversary festivities over the weekend, a lot of beloved Saturday Night Live characters returned to the show for the first time in years — including Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer’s Marty and Bobbi Mohan-Culp, who performed a memorable rendition of Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” during the concert special Friday (Feb. 14).
But in an interview with People published Monday (Feb. 17), the actress revealed that she and her duet partner weren’t initially certain whether they should incorporate the Billboard Hot 100-topping Drake diss track into the skit. “We went back and forth,” Gasteyer told the publication.
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“We were like … it’s song of the year, obviously,” she continued, referring to Dot’s recent song and record of the year wins for “Not Like Us” at the 2025 Grammys. “The thing about the Culps is they’re just trying to stay current and they want to reach their students where they are. So, song of the year.”
The fictional married couple indeed got the crowd laughing as Ferrell performed Lamar’s famous rap nearly word for word while Gasteyer sang its repeating four-note string hook opera-style. During the sketch, the Culps also put their own spins on songs by Doechii, Britney Spears, Megan Thee Stallion, Chappell Roan and more.
After finishing “Not Like Us,” the Elf star asked the crowd in character, “Are Kenny Lamar and Drake Graham in the house, by the way? Maybe you two can hug it out tonight in the name of love and fellowship.”
“We always kind of start with the premise, which is Valentine’s Day and love, and then naturally, because of the feuding, it was sort of like, you have to have the contrast,” Gasteyer added of the cover. “So, it was just fun to write, and ridiculous.”
The concert kicked off a weekend full of 50th-anniversary celebrations for Saturday Night Live, with the musical show also featuring performances from Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Ms. Lauryn Hill with Wyclef Jean, the Backstreet Boys and more. Two days later, SNL hosted a red carpet and live special, which saw Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Bill Murray, Rachel Dratch, Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler and more all-stars return to the 30 Rock stage for skits and music, and included appearances from musicians such as Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter.
Of sliding right back into her iconic character alongside Ferrell, Gasteyer told People, “It is just the most comfortable, familiar — I wish I had better words to describe it.”
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Hit dogs are hollering on social media after Tom Hanks put on a MAGA hat to portray a racist Donald Trump supporter during a skit on SNL 50.
Tom Hanks is feeling the wrath of MAGA Republicans for what they are saying is a “racist and disgusting” portrayal of Trump supporters on Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) 50th-anniversary special.
For the special, NBC spun the block on some of the more popular sketches, including “Black Jeopardy,” featuring Kenan Thompson, Leslie Jones, Eddie Murphy, and Tom Hanks.
For the hilarious skit, Hanks brought back his character Doug, an accurate depiction of Donald Trump’s core base of supporters who have no clue about what is going on in America outside of the right-wing echo chamber.
The Forrest Gump star first portrayed Doug in 2016 during Felon 47’s first failed presidency. In that original skit, he pointed out the differences and similarities between those who proudly support Orange Mussolini and those who give him the middle finger every chance they get.
In this new skit, Doug is the only white contestant on Black Jeopardy and refuses to shake hands with Kenan Thompson’s character, Darnell Hayes, before reluctantly agreeing to complete the gesture.
MAGA world took it as an insult, basically crying that it’s wrong to label the group of people who are proudly rallying behind immigrants being rounded up and deported and an administration on a mission to remove all DEI policies geared towards evening the playing field for Black and Brown people to “make America great again.”
Social media has been sipping on MAGA rage tears over the skit because Tom Hanks nailed the performance.
Welp.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
3. Nailed it.
5. We’ll wait
6. Never forget
7. So delicious
10. He sure does
Paul McCartney made a grand return to Saturday Night Live for its SNL50: The Anniversary Special, delivering a stirring performance of the Abbey Road medley, “Golden Slumbers” / “Carry That Weight” / “The End.”
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The former Beatle, who was a musical guest on the show in 1980, 1993, 2010 and 2012 and made cameos in 2006, 2013 and 2015, also previously appeared on SNL’s 40th anniversary special. The legendary rocker again took the stage at Studio 8H on Sunday night (Feb. 16), closing out the three-hour event with a historic nod to one of the most celebrated albums in rock history.
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McCartney’s appearance followed a star-studded night of musical performances, including Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard’s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and a surprise duet from Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter.
Lil Wayne performed with The Roots and DJ T. Lewis for his performance, which opened with the 2018 single “Uproar,” and saw Weezy run through other tunes from his Tha Carter series of albums, including his lone Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper as a solo artist “Lollipop”, followed by “6 Foot 7 Foot” and “Mrs. Officer”. The night also featured an unexpected SNL moment when Nirvana joined Post Malone for a performance of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
The 50th anniversary of SNL also brings about one of rock’s most legendary what-ifs: the time McCartney and John Lennon nearly reunited on the show.
In 1976, SNL creator Lorne Michaels famously offered The Beatles $3,000 to reunite during the show’s first season. Lennon later recalled in a Playboy interview that he and McCartney were watching the show together that night at Lennon’s apartment in The Dakota and briefly considered making a surprise appearance. “We nearly got into a cab, but we were actually too tired,” Lennon admitted. “We went, ‘Ha-ha, wouldn’t it be funny if we went down?’ But we didn’t.”
Though that reunion never happened, McCartney’s SNL history remains rich. Beyond his musical performances, he’s been a frequent comedic guest, appearing in sketches over the years—including a memorable bit with Chris Farley in which the late comedian nervously interviewed him on The Chris Farley Show.
McCartney’s latest appearance at SNL 50 comes as he continues to celebrate The Beatles’ lasting legacy. In 2023, The Beatles scored their first No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Now and Then,” a long-lost track featuring Lennon’s vocals. The song also topped Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart and became the band’s 35th Hot 100 top 10 hit.
SNL50: The Anniversary Special aired on Sunday, Feb. 16 on NBC and will be available to stream on Peacock.
If you need someone to put the perfect words into song, just call Adam Sandler. The movie star, who got his start as a Saturday Night Live castmember from 1991 to 1995, returned to his 30 Rock stomping grounds on Sunday night (Feb. 16) for SNL50: The Anniversary Special, pulling out his trusty acoustic guitar […]
Miley Cyrus teamed up with Brittany Howard to cover “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the Prince-written hit made famous by Sinéad O’Connor, on Sunday night’s (Feb. 16) SNL50: The Anniversary Special. Cyrus and Howard belted the song, with the Alabama Shakes frontwoman offering some extra soulfulness on the guitar for the powerful cover. O’Connor famously brought […]