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Olivia Rodrigo called back upon some of her career-making moments during her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live.
In Rodrigo’s monologue, the 23-year-old singer began by exclaiming that it was “a dream” to be hosting the late night show for the first time. She joked that she “grew up watching the show, and they say your favorite SNL cast is the one you watched as a teenager.”
“Mine is Mikey Day, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson and Chloe Fineman,” she said, who are all notably current cast members on the show. “And they all came back this week just to cheer me on. How sweet!”
Poking further at her young age, the three-time Grammy winner recounted some of her early projects as a child actor. She previously starred in the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark, and on SNL, she acknowledged that she used to be co-stars with Jake Paul.
“When I was 13, I was on a Disney show called Bizaardvark, and we had an incredible cast, which included acting legend Jake Paul,” Rodrigo said. “And we’d always talk about our futures, me and Jake. I’d say, ‘I really wanna create music that explores the complexities of girls my age,’ and he’d say, ‘Well, one day I really wanna beat up old guys on Netflix.’”
The joke appeared to be a callback to Paul’s boxing match against Mike Tyson, which infamously streamed on Netflix in 2024. She continued, “And we both did it, hooray!”
The “Drivers License” singer ended her monologue by performing a parody of the track that shot her into stardom, with a modern twist. This time, Rodrigo sang about getting her real ID instead of her driver’s license.
“You know, a lot has changed for me since my first single ‘Drivers License,’ which was about the biggest event in my life when I was a teenager. And now that I’m older, I decided to write a new song about the most recent big event in my adult life, and I really hope it speaks to you,” she said before beginning the parody of the 2021 track.
“I got my real ID last week, showed up at the DMV. I sat there waiting 14 hours, with 9 forms to prove it’s me,” Rodrigo sang.
Before Rodrigo hit the stage to dish out her monologue, Aziz Ansari joined the cold open for a surprise appearance to portray Kash Patel, the director of the FBI. Before that, Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth was asked a question from reporters about him quoting a fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction during a prayer service in mid-April.
“When you recited that Bible verse from Pulp Fiction about vengeance and furious anger, did you know it was fake and it wasn’t really in the Bible?” a faux reporter asked, to which Jost’s Hegseth responded, “Yeah. Also, I do believe that someday it will be.”
Ansari’s Patel also addressed the press, arguing that they “should not be reporting the lies and the gossip,” but rather “reporting on the historic nature of my appointment.”
“I’m a trailblazer. I’m the first Indian person to suck at their job,” he said. “Everyone says Indian people are smart, hardworking, incredibly intelligent. I’ve proved without a shadow of a doubt that we can be just as incapable and incompetent as the whites.”
Rodrigo’s SNL return marks her third overall appearance on the show, but her first time hosting, and notably her first time serving in both the host and musical guest roles. She previously appeared on the show in May 2021 and December 2023.
The singer is gearing up for the release of her third studio album, You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, which releases on June 12. “Drop Dead” was released on April 17, serving as the lead single for her upcoming record. The track has already broken records for Rodrigo’s career, marking her fourth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Debbie Harry introduced the singer before she performed “Drop Dead,” which marked her first musical performance of the night. Rodrigo sang an unreleased song during her second performance of the night, after Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie set the stage for the track’s debut.
To add to the excitement for her SNL stint on Saturday, Rodrigo announced Thursday that she’s gearing up to hit the road with her Unraveled Tour. Also before the episode, the pop star teased that she’d be playing a brand new track on the sketch comedy series.
During the “Weekend Update” segment, Alix Earle (Veronika Slowikowska) and Alex Cooper (Chloe Fineman) joined Colin Jost and Michael Che to give the run-down on their feud. They attempted to break down the beef that some have speculated stemmed from their business relationship. (Earle’s podcast Hot Mess was signed to Cooper’s Unwell Network, though Earle parted ways with the company in February 2025.)
“Okay, so I’m gonna say what happened between us,” Slowikowska’s Earle said. “Okay, then say it. Say what you gotta say girl,” Fineman’s Cooper replied.
“On it,” Slowikowska’s Earle added, before the faux Call Her Daddy host said, “There’s no NDA.”
Their discourse was a direct play on a TikTok video Cooper shared about the situation, where she accussed Earle of starting “fake drama” and creating a “fake narrative” — Earle merely commented “Okay on it” on Cooper’s video about the situation, though she has not publicly shared her side of the story.
Rodrigo is one of the final hosts and musical guests of SNL‘s 51st season. With only two episodes left, Matt Damon will host next Saturday’s episode with Noah Kahan as musical guest, while Will Ferrell will host the season finale alongside Paul McCartney.
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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/olivia-rodrigo-saturday-night-live-jake-paul-drivers-license-1236584171/
McKinley Franklin
Almontather Rassoul
