Pop star Olivia Rodrigo took over Saturday Night Live on May 2, 2026, marking her first time as host and her third overall appearance on the show. The 23-year-old singer pulled off double duty, serving as both host and musical guest for the night. She used the opportunity to perform two new songs and show off her comedy skills in seven different sketches.
The episode came as Rodrigo prepares to release her third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, on June 12, 2026. Her hosting debut also included surprise cameos from Aziz Ansari, Debbie Harry, and Connor Storrie.
Olivia Rodrigo Jokes About Working With Jake Paul in Her Opening Monologue
Rodrigo started her monologue by sharing how excited she was to host the show for the first time. She joked about growing up watching SNL, naming current cast members Mikey Day, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Chloe Fineman as her favorite cast from her teenage years.
The singer then looked back at her early acting career, specifically her time on the Disney Channel show Bizaardvark. She shared the screen with Jake Paul on that series, and she used that connection for a funny bit.
“When I was 13, I was on a Disney show called Bizaardvark, and we had an incredible cast, which included acting legend Jake Paul. And we’d always talk about our futures, me and Jake. I’d say, ‘I really wanna create music that explores the complexities of girls my age,’ and he’d say, ‘Well, one day I really wanna beat up old guys on Netflix.’”
The joke referenced Paul’s 2024 boxing match against Mike Tyson that streamed on Netflix. Rodrigo ended the story by saying, “And we both did it, hooray!”
She then performed a parody of her 2021 hit “drivers license,” but this time the song was about getting her real ID at the DMV.
“I got my real ID last week, showed up at the DMV. I sat there waiting 14 hours, with 9 forms to prove it’s me.”
‘My Room’ and ‘Edge of Destiny’ Among the Night’s Best Sketches
Rodrigo appeared in seven sketches that made it to air. Critics and fans pointed to two pre-taped segments as the episode’s biggest highlights.
“My Room” played as a Midnight Matinee parody, with Rodrigo singing about her childhood bedroom filled with boy band posters, a lava lamp, and glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars. The twist came when the camera pulled back to show that her room was actually an exhibit in a zoo on a planet ruled by bug people.
“Every day when the sun comes up, the bug people come look at me. They let the zoo members come in first, and the older bugs get in free.”
The sketch showed bug observers watching Rodrigo sleep, use the bathroom, and go about her daily life. When she flushed the toilet, the bugs clapped “like it’s a dolphin show.”
“Edge of Destiny” opened the night’s live sketches. The soap opera parody featured Rodrigo as a villain who pushed people down a flight of stairs. The humor came from how every character who walked near the stairs ended up tumbling down in increasingly dramatic ways.
“Busted” had Rodrigo opposite Marcello Hernández in a spoof of The Isley Brothers’ 2003 music video for “Busted.” The two sang their argument about cheating while staying completely in character and on beat. James Austin Johnson and Jane Wickline made surprise appearances in the sketch. Wickline got one of the biggest laughs of the night with her line.
“I followed him here. I thought he was cheating, I had suspicions. I got these long-ass legs, so I be jumping to conclusions.”
“Rasta Driver” featured Andrew Dismukes as an Uber driver who breaks into an unexpected dancehall performance while Rodrigo and Veronika Slowikowska sit in the backseat. Even when Rodrigo’s character called the song “kinda trash,” Dismukes stayed committed, replying, “I wish that was true, sweetheart, I really do. It was next-level and I can’t escape my destiny.”
“My Ex” put Rodrigo at a friend’s birthday dinner where she tried to make her former boyfriend jealous. She recruited a stranger played by Tommy Brennan to be her fake date. Her ex, played by Ben Marshall, had the same idea but chose Ashley Padilla, whose character behaved so strangely that his plan completely backfired.
“Shop TV: Lava Cake” showed Rodrigo as Daisy, a Southern baker selling chocolate lava cakes on a home shopping channel. Everyone except Daisy noticed that the cakes looked like something else entirely. The sketch followed a similar format to one that featured Sabrina Carpenter in a previous episode.
“Home Security Ad” was a pre-taped commercial parody where TikTok stars tried to stop home robbers by putting them on the spot to film social media reels. Rodrigo had a smaller role in this sketch as one of the influencers.
Rodrigo Debuts Two New Songs With Help From Debbie Harry and Connor Storrie
As musical guest, Rodrigo performed two tracks from her upcoming album. Debbie Harry, the 80-year-old lead singer of Blondie, introduced the first performance of “drop dead,” the lead single from you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.
For her second performance, Rodrigo debuted a new ballad called “begged.” She was introduced by Connor Storrie, who had hosted SNL on February 28, 2026. The pop star sang while sitting on a swing, wearing a pale pink tunic over a satin dress with cream-colored leg warmers. Weyes Blood provided backing vocals for the emotional performance.
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Aziz Ansari Makes Surprise Cameo in Political Cold Open
The episode’s cold open featured Aziz Ansari making a surprise appearance as FBI Director Kash Patel. He joined Colin Jost, who played Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The sketch referenced the shooting that happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner the previous weekend.
Rodrigo did not appear in the cold open, as the segment focused entirely on political satire. Ansari’s appearance marked his return to SNL years after hosting the show himself during Season 42.
The episode served as Rodrigo’s most complete SNL experience yet. She first appeared as musical guest in May 2021, returned for another musical performance in December 2023, and even made a brief cameo in a sketch during that second visit. Her hosting debut showed the range she has developed since her Disney Channel days, moving easily between live comedy, pre-taped segments, and intimate musical performances.
Rodrigo’s third album arrives on June 12, followed by The Unraveled Tour, a 60-plus-date arena run across North America, Europe, and the UK.
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