Saturday Night Live cast member Chloe Fineman shared and then deleted a TikTok, seemingly indicating that Elon Musk was the previously unidentified, most badly behaved SNL host.
As is often the case with claims like these, there’s a bit of context involved — some very recent, and some from the summer.
Let’s unpack it.
On Saturday, SNL began with a “cold open” sketch reacting to the outcome of the 2024 election, a powerful bit of political satire acknowledging former president Donald Trump’s win:
The sketch kicked off with four SNL cast members on the show’s “Oval Office” set: Bowen Yang, Ego Nwodim, Keenan Thompson, and Chloe Fineman.
It had an initially sober tone, and each cast member spoke about the wide-ranging implications of a second Trump administration … before shifting to comedy, feigning support for the President-Elect alongside disinterest in future jokes at Trump’s expense.
Overall, SNL’s cold open was an excellent example of the relevance and role of political satire in the media landscape, cathartically striking notes of panic, resignation, and humor in the face of anticipated clampdowns on the First Amendment protections for journalism and comedy.
At the end of that sketch, prominent SNL alumnus Dana Carvey made an appearance as Elon Musk, and Elon tweeted in response, asserting that the show “has been dying slowly for years, as they become increasingly out of touch with reality.”
After it aired, Chloe shared the TikTok she later deleted, and it appeared to relate back to Bowen Yang’s “blind item” style confession to Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live this summer.
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Chloe And Bowen On ‘The Worst SNL Host Behavior’
In August, we reported on Bowen’s WWHL appearance, and his compelling tease during Andy’s “Truth Or Kink” segment.
Andy flipped through random questions, and one of the questions was posed to Bowen: “Without naming names, what is the worst SNL host behavior you have witnessed?”
At the time, we noted that “Bowen was not asked to name the worst host, merely to describe their behavior,” and Bowen didn’t hesitate when he answered:
“Oh my gosh … Well, uh … this man who — this person, this host, um, made multiple cast members cry on Wednesday during the reh– before the table read, because he hated the ideas! [Crosstalk] Terrible!”
Bowen added that the unnamed man had a new public relations (PR) team, and commenters speculated on the individual’s identity.
Among candidates for the “worst SNL host,” Elon Musk was a favored pick due to his notorious inability to take a joke:
“Has to be Elon. It [was said] he shot down TONS of skits [because] he didn’t want to do anything even close to making fun of himself[.]”
Ultimately, interest in the story blew over, until Elon again became irate at being parodied on Saturday night.
Chloe has since deleted her TikTok, but not before a Reddit user uploaded the video to celebrity gossip subreddit r/Fauxmoi:
At the beginning of the clip, Chloe talks about Elon loudly complaining about Saturday’s cold open, pointing out that he’s “clearly watching the show,” continuing:
And I’m like, you know what? I’m gonna come out and say at long last that I’m the cast member that [Elon Musk] made cry, and he’s the host that made someone cry.
Chloe indicated that she was initially conflicted about sharing the anecdote, which tracks with its subsequent deletion.
She added:
“Like, guess what. You [Elon Musk] made I, Chloe Fineman, burst into tears because I stayed up all night writing a sketch, I was so excited, I came in, I asked if you had any questions, and you stared at me like you were firing me from Tesla and were like: ‘It’s not funny.'”
Elon seemed to corroborate Chloe’s account on Twitter/X, claiming that his reaction was out of fear he’d be perceived as “unfunny.”
Several users on r/Fauxmoi opined that Elon is thin-skinned and so desperate for approval that he repels people.
Many commented with observations to that effect:
“He’s taking revenge on the world because no one has ever liked him. I went to school with a kid like him. He could never be nice to anyone, insulted girls randomly, etc. I was civil to him, he asked me out, and I politely declined. He actually called my house and told my Mom that I was at a party one night. My Mom called him a creep. Just like Elon.”
“I saw a TikTok that said Elon Musk is a perfect example of how money can’t ‘unlame’ you. You can be the richest man in the world and yet still be the lamest in the room.”
“Beyond finding him evil, I think he’s the loser of all losers. He embodies what it is to be a loser. It makes my heart swell with contempt. He’s so embarrassing. 0 shame[.]”
According to Chloe, the sketch aired and was successful, in spite of Elon’s pushback and fear of being perceived as “unfunny.”
- Release Date
- October 11, 1975
- Cast
- Leslie Jones , Aidy Bryant , Kyle Mooney , Alex Moffat , Kate McKinnon , Beck Bennett , Kenan Thompson , Colin Jost , Mikey Day , Cecily Strong , Michael Che , Pete Davidson , Melissa Villaseñor
- Seasons
- 48
- Franchise
- snl
- Story By
- Colin Jost
- Writers
- Colin Jost
- Network
- NBC
- Streaming Service(s)
- Peacock
- Directors
- Lorne Michaels
- Showrunner
- Lorne Michaels
