Elon Musk Hosting 'Saturday Night Live' Has Fans Overflowing With Rage

Plenty of entertainment icons are still waiting for a chance to host Saturday Night Live, and yet [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Plenty of entertainment icons are still waiting for a chance to host Saturday Night Live, and yet the May 8 episode will be hosted by the controversial Elon Musk. The announcement angered those who watch the long-running sketch comedy show and even those who don't, and many were quick to point out the baggage that comes with inviting Musk onto the show. Miley Cyrus will serve as the musical guest on Musk's episode.

Musk is best known as the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, and he has an estimated fortune of $177 billion, according to Forbes. However, Musk's comments on Twitter have attracted plenty of criticism, especially his stances during the coronavirus pandemic. In March, he shared skepticism in the coronavirus vaccines, tweeting that there was "some debate" about the safety of the second Pfizer and Moderna shots. However, on April 7, he finally endorsed vaccines. "To be clear, I do support vaccines in general & covid vaccines specifically. The science is unequivocal," he wrote at the time. "In very rare cases, there is an allergic reaction, but this is easily addressed with an EpiPen."

Last year, Musk incorrectly predicted the U.S. would see "close to zero" new coronavirus cases in April 2020. He also described California's coronavirus protocols as "fascist" and fought to keep a Tesla factory there open, notes the New York Post. In November, he claimed he contracted a "moderate case" of the virus, and completed his symptoms to a "minor cold."

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SNL does have a history of bringing in hosts from outside the entertainment world. In 1990, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner hosted an episode. In 1983, then-NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff hosted the show, reports Variety. Of course, one of the most notorious episodes featured President Donald Trump as host, after he left The Apprentice and began his campaign for president. Scroll on for a look at the overwhelmingly negative response to Musk's hosting.

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Many SNL fans directed their anger towards Lorne Michaels, the executive producer and creator of the show. "IDK how much communication you have with Lorne or the higher-ups, but someone needs to tell them that absolutely no one wants this," one person wrote. "I can not think of a single person who wants this. and I don't mean Miley."

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Others suggested Cyrus should both host and perform on the episode. "Cancel this episode now. Just delete the post, say it was a funny joke, have Miley do double duty and never entertain an idea so horrendously stupid again," one SNL fan wrote.

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"Waiting for the sketch about his smoking pot as a teen - babbling about paying for things without physical cash, what if there were reusable rockets and how about we used these giant batteries for everything, man," one person wrote. "I have never missed an episode since 1975, even though it's gotten incredibly bad. This will be the first," another fan chimed in.

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"Bezos is fuming. The younger guy with hair has beat him to the punch again!" one person wrote, referring to Amazon's Jeff Bezos.

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"That is the most random combination ever but ok," one person wrote. "Why and how the hell is Elon Musk hosting SNL," another wondered.

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