Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary special really was a COVID super-spreader event.
We can now add five more names to the list of stars who left SNL50 with more than they bargained for. In a conversation with recent COVID case Martin Short on her new podcast Good Hang, Amy Poehler dropped a few other names of folks who fell prey to the coronavirus in the wake of the show’s celebratory weekend.
“I don’t feel like I got any time with you at the SNL 50th,” Poehler mentioned to Short at the start of their conversation.
“No. The only thing we got was COVID,” Short replied. “Everyone got it.”
Short’s COVID diagnosis was first shared by Steve Martin in the days after the SNL50 weekend, who also revealed that Maya Rudolph had gotten it. (“She did NOT come to the show with it,” he later clarified.)
COVID also sidelined Chloe Fineman, forcing her to miss an SNL episode for the first time. (Laraine Newman also fell ill after the special—but she suffered the flu rather than COVID.
But they weren’t the only ones to fall ill following the special.
“Not only do I know that everyone got it,” Poehler confirmed to Short before revealing a couple other folks who caught the virus: Tina Fey and Colin Jost.
“So did Amy Schumer, Meryl [Streep], [and] Mike Myers,” Short added.
Jost’s diagnosis may be the most ironic, as it was he who warned of the super-spreader dangers in a “Weekend Update” joke during the SNL50 special. “Health experts are facing increased pressure this winter in the face of outbreaks of COVID, the flu, RSV, and norovirus, which they’re calling a ‘quad-demic,’” Jost said as he set up the joke. “So we did the smart thing and packed every beloved entertainer over 60 into one tiny space.”
One person who didn’t get COVID? Poehler herself—much to her surprise.“I [did] scenes with all of those people, and I shared a dressing room with Meryl. I did a scene with Mike Myers and Maya,” she pointed out.
Short’s COVID diagnosis forced him to miss the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where he won his first two trophies after seven nominations. (“You are nominated all the time and you don’t win. And then the time that you win, you’re not there,” Poehler noted to Short, who said he was stunned at the wins and hadn’t even tuned in for the ceremony.)
You can watch Poehler and Short’s COVID recap from Poehler’s Good Hang podcast below.
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Technically, this isn’t the first SNL episode that Chloe has missed. I mean, she also missed the Bill Burr episode from *earlier* this season (even if it’s because she was not in NY for most of the week, and not any illnesses). But these next two are understandable, as these absences are from her featured player years:
She also missed the Harry Styles episode from November 23, 2019 (Season 45: her first season) and the Dan Levy/Phoebe Bridgers episode from February 6, 2021 (Season 46: her second year). But yeah, only 4 absences in six years at the show. A near pefect attendance record other than those 4 eps.
Damn Zach , you an SNL fan or sumthin? 😂
Lol. Yup
Also, this actually isn’t the first time that Colin has tested positive for COVID. He also tested positive for the virus the week of the infamous December 18, 2021 episode, with Paul Rudd, that forced him to miss the episode, and thus Update was co-anchored by Tina Fey and Michael Che. Tina, it’s ironic, since she got COVID recently, because of the 50th. So, yeah.
I’ve heard rumors about NBC budget cuts potentially affecting SNL *after* this season, and it was brought up again during the SNL Network roundtable last night. So yeah, I don’t see Colin surviving them (as a cast member) if they do happen, but you never know; so I guess we’ll just have to watch and see what happens.
I thought the whole cast got the shot. 🤔 huh?
😂
This hasn’t been confirmed yet, Randy.
Looks like the COVID shot of fall 2024 didn’t last as long as other versions, which change constantly.
An RN friend, fastidiously vaccinated, finally caught COVID in February. Her vaxx was over 7 months past.
It’s worth getting in for a booster if it’s been just 6 month. This virus morphs constantly and vaccines are prepared accordingly.
Get your booster ASAP, my friends. Don’t get complacent. Long Covid can be really hard on young people, serious stuff.