Saturday Night Live’s latest Olympic crossover (one in a long line) is already generating backlash—before anyone has seen a single frame of what will actually air.
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, fresh off Team USA’s men’s hockey gold medal at this month’s Winter Olympics, is expected to make a cameo on NBC’s long-running sketch series during this Saturday’s February 28 episode, hosted by Connor Storrie.
The pairing is what’s fueling the online outcry. Storrie is best known for playing pro hockey player Ilya Rozanov on the queer hockey romance/drama Heated Rivalry, and some fans are upset at the idea of Hughes appearing on the same show—so soon after he and other members of the men’s team took part in a White House celebration with Donald Trump following their gold-medal win.
That post-Olympics stretch has been unusually politically visible. After their victory, the U.S. men’s hockey team accepted an invitation to the White House, attended Trump’s State of the Union address, and were present as goaltender Connor Hellebuyck received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Widely circulated video also showed FBI Director Kash Patel celebrating with players after the gold-medal game.
Hughes has not positioned himself as a political figure. The backlash appears rooted less in anything he has said than in the optics of where—and with whom—the team celebrated its championship. Athletes from title-winning teams have traditionally accepted White House invitations regardless of administration.
SNL, for its part, also has a long track record of booking sports champions—particularly Olympians—for celebratory cameos. In 2018, U.S. women’s hockey star Hilary Knight memorably appeared on the show following Team USA’s dramatic gold medal win over Canada at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
NBC has not confirmed Hughes’ appearance on Saturday’s broadcast, nor is it clear whether he’ll appear in a sketch or a brief walk-on, or whether any teammates—or members of the gold medal–winning U.S. women’s hockey team—might join him. (The network has announced Hughes is also scheduled to appear alongside his brother Jack and Hilary Knight on Monday night’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.)
Still, outrage has been swift in some corners of social media, especially within Heated Rivalry’s fanbase.
Carina Adly MacKenzie, writer/showrunner of Amazon Prime’s We Were Liars, wrote on X: “Heated Rivalry handed the NHL so much (unearned) goodwill from women & queer people this year. Their golden boys destroyed it in the MOST cliche boys-will-be-boys locker-room-talk bullshit way. If they actually shove Quinn Hughes into Connor Storrie’s SNL to salvage it… gross.”
On the r/LiveFromNewYork subreddit, one commenter wrote, “Terrible choice when SNL could be satirizing the entire USA Men’s Olympic Hockey team.”
Another user posted, “How did they misread the rooms this badly??!! ?? I was so excited for this week!”
And on X, one viewer wrote, “snl audience please unionize to boo quinn hughes the minute he steps on stage.”
For now, the reaction is unfolding largely online. Whether the controversy grows—or dissipates—will likely depend entirely on what happens inside Studio 8H Saturday night.
Considering the Hughes bros were geared up in their MAGA hats and posing with Karoline Leavitt and Kash Patel, Quinn made it pretth clear that his political views are antithetical to everything in Heated Rivalry. What a letdown he ended up being.
I hate Trump with the burning hot intensity of 1000 suns but this is just stupid. The USA won a gold medal. That’s awesome! People like a show about gay hockey players that also is awesome! Yes, it’s too bad that Trump and his goons inserted themselves but that doesn’t matter at all in compared to the national triumph our men’s and women’s hockey teams gold medal victories. Our country made those champions and we can all take pride in that.
The men’s hockey team won gold on the ice but came in dead last by laughing at an inappropriate joke about the gold medal winning women’s team. The men won their first since 1980. The women’s team has won a medal in the last 8 Olympics. Slighting women to seem big is a terrible look on men, who never seem to learn. Dismissing the issue shows that most men don’t understand the issue. That’s why their uproar is loud and real.
It was more like a gay porn hockey show and theres nothing wrong with that. it would be wrong if those dudes were getting their dicks chopped off so they could compete in women’s leagues though lol. Trump cares more about America in his little finger than the dems care in their whole bodies. excluding a couple of dems that actually care they just have different ideas.
Puh-LEEEZ!!! He only cares about himself and how much money he can grift off of the American public! That’s why his approval ratings are well under water and sinking! He started a war with Iran to get people distracted about the epstein files, WHICH HE’S DEEP IN!
You support a treasonous pedophile named Drumpf!
You are going to hang your head in shame!
lol liberals they can never take a joke, doesn’t matter if its against them or those they hate! im excited to see Hughes on SNL and maybe he’ll make it great again! Hughes is an awesome NHL player. it’s sad so many on the left upset because they hate the USA so much!
there’s nobody that hates America more than magats…they tried to overthrow the government
AMEN
You mental midget!
You are in no fucking position to question ANYONE’S support!
yawn. NOBODY cares what these fruitcakes “think “. This is coming from a fruitcake too.
You lick the unwiped taint of a treasonous pedophile in Drumpf! You’re a loser that doesn’t deserve to be posting here!