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Arts & Entertainment

Elon Musk, Keegan-Michael Key and Anya Taylor-Joy To Host Final SNL Episodes Of Season


By

Ben Yakas

Published May 3, 2021


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A photo of Keegan-Michael Key, Elon Musk and Anya Taylor-Joy

 

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By

Ben Yakas

Published May 3, 2021


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What do the unlikely trio of billionaire meme lover Elon Musk, sketch comedy vet Keegan-Michael Key and actress Anya Taylor-Joy have in common? They will each be making their SNL debut while hosting the final three episodes of Saturday Night Live this season.

Musk is up first this Saturday, May 8th, with returning musical guest Miley Cyrus. Key, who previously was a cast member on SNL competitor MADtv before going on to star in the incredible Key & Peele, will host May 15th with first time musical guest Olivia Rodrigo (whose hit song "Drivers License" was the subject of a sketch during the Regé-Jean Page episode—you can watch it below). And Taylor-Joy, who has been killing it in everything from The Queen's Gambit to Emma in recent years, will host the season finale on May 22nd with musical guest Lil Nas X.

After Musk was announced as a host, a few SNL cast members directly or implicitly seemed to criticize the choice, including Bowen Yang, Andrew Dismukes, and Aidy Bryant. A source told Page Six that no cast member would be forced to appear alongside Musk, and Lorne Michaels "won’t ever make them do anything they don’t want to do." There's been no indication that anyone has pulled out of the episode or were ever planning to, which makes this a bit of a non-starter of a controversy, not that it has stopped some conservatives from bemoaning the halcyon days of yore when SNL was the epitome of dangerous comedy counterculture and also more friendly (?) to billionaire hosts.

More embarrassingly, Musk seemed to be crowdsourcing ideas for "skits" on Twitter last week, and unveiled some cringey ideas of his own. Current cast member Chris Redd and former cast member Jon Lovitz made fun of him for that.

Tagged

comedy

saturday night live

snl

keegan-michael key

television

elon musk


Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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