Saturday Night Live viewers weren’t expecting to see controversial internet personality Trisha Paytas on the long-running NBC sketch series.
Gladiator 2 star Paul Mescal hosted Saturday (December 7) night’s episode, performing an opening monologue and appearing in a number of skits alongside recurring SNL cast members.
One sketch saw them joking about Spotify’s recently released Wrap for 2024, which shows users their most-listened-to songs and artists from the past year.
In the scene, Mescal shows his friends (played by Andrew Dismukes, Ego Nwodim and Sarah Sherman) his top-streamed, which is Satoshi Gutman — an “anti-instrumentalist sound guru out of Dundalk, Maryland” played by Bowen Yang.
After playing Gutman’s “Y’all Made Me Celibate,” Mescal shows the others a clip from the fictional artist’s podcast featuring Paytas as a guest.
“Hey bastards!” she exclaims.
“What do we always say, Trisha?” Gutman asks. Together, they say, “the best bussy is celibacy.”
Sherman exclaims “this is so insane” but Mescal insists that Spotify Wrapped “Is not about judging people.”
It’s about sharing the soundtrack of your life. Call me crazy, but I think that’s something to celebrate,” Mescal says.
Gutman and Paytas then appear for an in-person visit. The internet star later appeared on stage with the rest of the cast as Mescal bid the audience adieu at the end of the night’s episode.
On X, viewers reacted in disbelief at seeing Paytas in the mainstream entertainment setting.
“Paul mescal saying ‘thank you to trisha paytas’ guys what universe are we in,” asked one person.
paul mescal saying “thank you to trisha paytas” guys what universe are we in pic.twitter.com/0JXe4Z4o9v
— paige 🌙 (@paiges_gvf) December 8, 2024
Another added: “pop culture is so fun lately. lookalike competitions, ceo hitman memes, what’s next???? trisha paytas on snl????”
pop culture is so fun lately. lookalike competitions, ceo hitman memes, what’s next???? trisha paytas on snl????
— Nikki Nasty (@nicolerafiee) December 8, 2024
“trisha paytas making her snl debut??? what the hell, sure,” wrote a third.
trisha paytas making her snl debut??? what the hell, sure. pic.twitter.com/eNBafGcazu
— chefkids (@girlflopping) December 8, 2024
“Trisha Paytas the queen of being the worst person ever and constantly rewarded for it,” another added.
Trisha Paytas the queen of being the worst person ever and constantly rewarded for it https://t.co/RZrmzua8qE
— Hassan Khadair (@HassanKhadair) December 8, 2024
Paytas is known for her dramatic vlogs on YouTube, where she has accumulated more than five million subscribers and one billion views. In the past, she’s been accused of creating clickbait content on topics ranging from her plastic surgery to her sexuality in order to attain fame.
Elsewhere on Mescal’s SNL debut, the Irish actor put a musical spin on the Gladiator sequel, which he leads as Lucious Verus Aurelius, the illegitimate offspring of Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius.
The actor sang through the parody song, “There’s no place like Rome,” as he flew away from the Colosseum on a broomstick wearing a witches hat — a nod to Cynthia Erivo’s rendition of “Defying Gravity” as Elphaba in Wicked.
