Story at a glance
- Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk made waves over the weekend revealing on “Saturday Night Live” that he had Asperger’s, saying his announcement made him the first show host with the diagnosis.
- “I’m actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s [syndrome] to host. Or at least the first to admit it,” Musk told the audience during his opening monologue.
- Viewers quickly argued Musk’s assumption, pointing out that comedian and former “SNL” cast member Dan Aykroyd was the first on the show with the diagnosis
Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk made waves over the weekend saying publicly on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) that he had Asperger’s — adding his announcement made him the first show host with the diagnosis.
“I’m actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s [syndrome] to host. Or at least the first to admit it,” Musk told the audience during his opening monologue.
Viewers quickly argued Musk’s assumption, pointing out that comedian and former “SNL” cast member Dan Aykroyd was the first on the show with the diagnosis, The New York Post reported. Aykroyd, who revealed he had Apserger’s to the Daily Mail in 2013, hosted the show in 2003.
Aykroyd told the Daily Mail that his Asperger’s was manageable, although it “wasn’t diagnosed until the early Eighties” when his wife made him see a doctor.
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Musk’s announcement on Saturday followed days of controversy surrounding the show’s choice to make him a host, which featured a few cast members taking jabs at the one of the richest people on earth.
But cast members Michael Che and Pete Davidson voiced their support for Musk on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Che lauded the slate of upcoming hosts, saying Musk is “the richest man in the world, how could you not be excited for that?”
Davidson, who told Meyers he might ask Musk for a Tesla, said he didn’t “know why people are freaking out.”
“They’re like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe that Elon Musk is hosting!’” Davidson said. “And I’m like, the guy that makes the Earth better kinda and makes cool things and sends people to Mars?’”
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