Watch Miley Cyrus Get Mobbed by Fans Ahead of ‘SNL’ Performance

The excitement surrounding Miley Cyrus‘ Saturday Night Live performance is building, so much so that the singer had a scary experience while headed back to her New York City hotel this week. A new video shared to social media captured the moment the “Midnight Sky” singer all but disappeared into a crowd of surrounding paparazzi and fans as she headed back for some rest after practice and filming promos for SNL.

Initially shared to TikTok but soon making its way to Instagram, the short clip showed Cyrus, dressed in a red skirt and black top, stepping off a van just outside of her hotel. Dozens of people already lined the streets in anticipation of catching a glimpse of the singer, and as she moved to begin signing autographs, the video showed the moment the crowd swarmed her, Cyrus barely visible in the group. Her bodyguards jumped into action and helped Cyrus make her way through the crowd of excited fans and flashing cameras from paparazzi and into the safety of the hotel.

The moment came just ahead of Cyrus’ performance on the Saturday, May 8 episode of SNL. The appearance, during which she will perform her and The Kid LAROI’s new song “Without You,” will mark the singer’s sixth as a musical guest on the late-night sketch comedy show, with Cyrus having last taken the Studio 8H stage in December 2018. Cyrus teased the upcoming performance with a behind-the-scenes video on Thursday showing some glimpses at rehearsal.

Cyrus will be appearing on the May 8 episode alongside Telsa CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who is set to host. SNL released the first promo for the episode on Thursday, showing the duo alongside SNL cast member Cecily Strong. In the promo, Musk introduces himself, joking, “I’m a wild card, so there’s no telling what I might do.” Cyrus chimes in, “Same here. Rules, no thanks.” Strong, however, interrupts and says, “it’s also the Mother’s Day show so your moms are going to be here,” prompting Cyrus to backtrack, “Forget what I said” and Musk to concede, “Fine, we’ll be good-ish.”

The upcoming episode has been shrouded in controversy due to Musk’s appearance. The SpaceX founder is a dividing figure due to his controversial statements on Twitter and in podcast appearances. According to reports, due to this, SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels has reportedly allowed cast members who do not approve of Musk to boycott the episode. A source said no cast members have yet had plans to sit the episode out, though.