Sarah Sherman seemed determined that we take notice of her the woman on her t-shirt during this week’s SNL goodnights, but who was it, and—to borrow a phrase from the shirt itself—why?
That was the question quite a few eagle-eyed viewers were asking at the conclusion of last night’s Jon Hamm-hosted Saturday Night Live.
LateNighter can reveal that the person on Sherman’s shirt was Karen Siff-Exkorn, and no, despite internet speculation, she’s not a SNL staffer or a friend of Sherman’s.
Siff-Exhorn was the winning bidder of an auction item at last month’s “Night of Too Many Stars,” the annual live comedy event hosted by Jon Stewart and founded by former SNL writer Robert Smigel, benefiting autism programs nationwide. This year’s group of too many stars included Paul Rudd, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Jim Gaffigan, Amy Schumer, and Nikki Glaser,
Thank you, Jon Hamm, @lizzo, and Kieran Culkin! Goodnight! pic.twitter.com/pKQuzEhJPO
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) April 13, 2025
Sherman was among several current SNL stars to perform at this year’s event, including James Austin Johnson, Marcello Hernandez, and Please Don’t Destroy. It was apparently Sherman’s idea to auction off the opportunity to be pictured on her shirt during a future SNL goodnights.
As for the “Why?” text underneath her photo on the shirt, that was Siff-Exhorn’s choice from a number of options Sherman offered up to the crowd.
Siff-Exhorn was not only an attendee of this year’s “Night of Too Many Stars,” she also sits on the board of NEXT for Autism, the organization that puts on the event. A longtime advocate for autism eduction, Siff-Exhorn wrote the book The Autism Sourcebook after her own son was diagnosed with childhood autism and she found it difficult to pull together comprehensive information about the disorder.
Though it won’t net you a spot on Sarah Sherman’s goodnights shirt, you can still donate to NEXT for Austism and support their important work.
