Ariana Grande’s new Saturday Night Live promo came with a nod to one of the most influential women in comedy.
Centered between Bowen Yang and musical guest Cher to hype up this weekend’s Christmas episode, Grande donned a gown first worn by Carol Burnett on The Carol Burnett Show.
Burnett originally wore the gown during the monologue of her eponymous sketch comedy series’ March 17, 1973 episode.
Legendary costume designer Bob Mackie, who designed the outfit, revealed on social media that Grande’s dress is indeed the very same one Burnett wore. The silk-crepe halter neck gown and shawl were acquired from Mackie’s personal archives via auction earlier this month. (Mackie outfitted Burnett throughout The Carol Burnett Show’s run. Incidentally, he has also worked extensively with this weekend’s musical guest, Cher.)
Grande’s gown was one of over 50 Mackie-designed wardrobe items acquired from his archives and sold in the Julien’s Auctions’ “Bold Luxury: Bob Mackie, Stage Glamour & The Couture Edit” event on December 3. According to the Julien’s listing, it sold for $3,840.
It’s unclear if Saturday Night Live or Grande herself purchased the dress; Grande was styled by her frequent stylist, Law Roach, for the promo.
The connection is a bit of an ironic one for SNL. When Lorne Michaels first formulated his vision for NBC’s sketch comedy program, a key distinction was that it not be The Carol Burnett Show. Burnett’s show was in the middle of a successful 11-season run when SNL began, but Michaels and his writers dismissed the show as too broad, with the performers too frequently breaking into laughter mid-sketch. (Imagine!)
Burnett herself never formally appeared on Saturday Night Live, aside from one unplanned cameo in which host Harry Anderson pulled her form the audience for the goodnights in 1985. Burnett has said she was never asked to host SNL, and for the last several years has told interviewers that she’s no longer open to it.
“I don’t know what I did to upset that man, but I’m so sorry,” she said of Michaels to The New Yorker this past September, adding, “Do you think it’s misogynistic?”
Burnett currently stars on Apple TV’s Palm Royale with former SNL star Kristen Wiig.
Ariana Grande and Cher headline the final SNL of 2025 this Saturday, December 20.
