Saturday Night Livestars Pete Davidson and John Mulaney lift the lid from the funny behind-the-scenes stories about working on the NBC comedy skectch.
The two alums revealed how they used to comfort celebrities who bombed their monologues to save them from embarrassment.
During a panel at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival, the 43-year-old comedian and actor talked about writing opening monologues for celebrity hosts during his time on the popular late-night show from 2008 to 2013.
“When I was 25, I’d tell Oscar-winning hosts — I’d write their monologue and be like, ‘You’re gonna say all that, it’s gonna go great,’ and they’d tank 8 times out of 10,” he recalled, as The King of Staten Islandstar laughed and admitted he, too, would tell hosts they “crushed it” even when they didn’t.
The Bearactor joked that actors often did not realise when their jokes were not landing with the audience and how he gave hilarious excuses to celebrities who bombed on SNL.
He once told a famous comedy star that poor “acoustics” were the reason the jokes failed.
Davidson, 32, also recalled blaming the audience, calling them “tourists.” He further acknowledged that he would often tell hosts, “You’re really performing for the people at home.”
Riffing on the bit, Mulaney added, “‘Play for the camera. The audience, they’re just there to help you, but they’re not gonna laugh a lot.’”
Their stories gave fans a humorous look at what happens behind the scenes at Saturday Night Live.
2026-05-24 10:23:00
