Story at a glance
- Elon Musk is hosting “SNL” on May 8.
- Some cast members voiced displeasure with the choice.
- A source told Page Six that cast members wouldn’t be forced to appear on the show with him.
“Saturday Night Live” (SNL) will reportedly not force cast members to perform alongside Elon Musk when he hosts the show on May 8.
“Speaking historically, if a cast member has been that unhappy, they don’t have to do it,” a source told Page Six. “[‘SNL’ boss Lorne Michaels] won’t ever make them do anything they don’t want to do.”
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
Following the announcement that he would host alongside musical guest Miley Cyrus, Musk took to Twitter to write, “Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is,” followed by a purple devil emoji. ‘SNL’ cast member Bowen Yang responded by screenshotting the tweet and sharing it to his Instagram story with the caption, “What … does this even mean” with a sad face emoji.
Fellow “SNL” cast member Aidy Bryant shared a tweet by Bernie Sanders to her Instagram story, in a veiled jab at Musk, which read, “The 50 wealthiest people in America today own more wealth than the bottom half of our people. Let me repeat that, because it is almost too absurd to believe: the 50 wealthiest people in this country own more wealth than some 165 MILLION Americans. That is a moral obscenity.”
Musk is the third-richest person in the world.
Other grievances stem from previous remarks Musk has made. Last year, Musk referred to the reaction to the coronavirus pandemic as “dumb” and wouldn’t comply with California coronavirus restrictions to close his Tesla plant.
Online, others pointed to when he tweeted threatening to take away stock options from Tesla employees if they tried to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board made him delete the tweet.
Representatives for “SNL” have not issued a comment at this time.
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA
BACKLASH IS GROWING OVER ELON MUSK HOSTING UPCOMING ‘SNL’ EPISODE
DWYANE WADE AND GABRIELLE UNION OPEN UP ABOUT RAISING A TRANS DAUGHTER
‘JEOPARDY’ ERUPTS IN CONTROVERSY AFTER WINNER ALLEGEDLY FLASHES WHITE POWER SIGN
CHADWICK BOSEMAN’S FAMILY DEFENDS ANTHONY HOPKINS AFTER OSCARS BACKLASH
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
