Bowen Yang Remembers SNL Host Who ‘Made Multiple Cast Members Cry’ Over Rejected Ideas

Bowen Yang Remembers SNL Host Who ‘Made Multiple Cast Members Cry’ Over Rejected Ideas

Yang has been part of the show since 2018.

Bowen Yang has had the opportunity to work with numerous hosts on Saturday Night Live since he joined as a writer in 2018, transitioned to a featured player the following season, and became a full-fledged cast member in 2019. But out of all the hosts he’s worked with, one stands out for all the wrong reasons.

During Sunday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Yang was asked to share, without naming names, the worst behavior he’s witnessed from an SNL host. His answer came quickly.

“There was this man who… this person, this host made multiple cast members cry on Wednesday before the table-read because he hated their ideas,” Yang said, referring to the mid-week pitch meeting.

Bowen Yang Remembers SNL Host Who ‘Made Multiple Cast Members Cry’ Over Rejected Ideas

While Yang’s hint about the host’s gender doesn’t do much to narrow down the possibilities—given that past hosts have included Woody Harrelson, Dave Chappelle, Steve Martin, Adam Driver, Jake Gyllenhaal, Austin Butler, and others—it does spark curiosity.

Back in June, Yang addressed speculation that he distanced himself from Chappelle during the closing scene of a January episode they both appeared in, clarifying that he was simply standing “where I always stand.” In that episode, Dakota Johnson was the actual host.

SNL has a long history of backstage drama involving both its stars and guests. Original cast members, for instance, have long claimed that Chevy Chase was notoriously difficult to work with. In 2018—four decades after Chase left the show—then cast member Pete Davidson even labeled him as a “genuinely bad, racist person.”

Chase’s response, in 2022, was characteristically blunt: “I don’t give a crap!”

The early days of SNL were also known for heavy partying, with the cast often joining hosts in after-show celebrations.

One notable story involves Seth Green, who, at 9 years old, was hired for a sketch during an episode hosted by Bill Murray. According to Green, things took a troubling turn in the greenroom.

Green recounted on the YouTube show Good Mythical Morning in October 2022 that he unintentionally upset Murray by sitting on the arm of a chair. “He saw me sitting on the arm of this chair and made a big fuss about me being in ‘his’ seat,” Green recalled. “I was like, ‘That is absurd. I am sitting on the arm of this couch. There are several lengths of this sofa. Kindly F off.’ And he was like, ‘That’s my chair.'”

The confrontation ended with Murray dangling Green over a trash can before dropping him in it. “He dropped me in the trash can, the trash can falls over,” Green said. “I was horrified. I ran away, hid under the table in my dressing room, and just cried.”

The upcoming season of Saturday Night Live—its 50th—kicks off on September 28 on NBC. Meanwhile, director Jason Reitman’s film about the show’s backstage drama, aptly titled Saturday Night, is set to be released on October 11.

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