The Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney, hosted the comedy show for the first time and poked fun at the negative reception of her Marvel movie and the online gossip about her personal life.

Sydney Sweeney, the 26-year-old actress who rose to fame with her roles in HBO’s Euphoria and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, made her debut as the host of Saturday Night Live on March 3, 2024. She was joined by country singer Kacey Musgraves as the musical guest, who performed songs from her upcoming album Deeper Well.

Sydney Sweeney Addresses Madame Web Backlash

In her opening monologue, Sydney Sweeney addressed the backlash she received for her role in Madame Web, a comic book tentpole set in Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters. The film, which was released on February 14, 2024, starred Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a New York paramedic who develops the power to see the future, and Sweeney as Julia Cornwall, one of the three young women she has to protect from a deadly enemy.

The film was widely panned by critics and audiences alike, who criticized its plot, direction, and performances. It currently holds a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.7/10 score on IMDb. It also performed poorly at the box office, earning only $35 million worldwide against a budget of $150 million.

Sweeney joked that she was not in the film, saying, “You definitely did not see me in Madame Web. That was someone else who looks like me. She cooked her own film.” She also said that she was not bothered by the negative reviews, because she had other projects to be proud of, such as her new horror movie Immaculate, in which she plays a nun who gets possessed by a demon.

Sydney Sweeney Denies Affair Rumors with Glen Powell

Sydney Sweeney also addressed some of the online rumors and gossip that she had heard about herself, such as someone on TikTok claiming to be her nutritionist, someone on Reddit saying that she worked at Universal Studios, and someone on Twitter saying that she had an affair with Glen Powell, her co-star in the Netflix rom-com Anyone But You.

She denied all of these allegations, saying, “I’ve never had a nutritionist. I’m in shape because I run, avoid sugar, and do Ozempic. I’ve never worked at Universal Studios. I’m an actress, not a ride operator. And I did not have an affair with Glen Powell. He’s just a friend. And a very good kisser.”

She then showed a clip from Anyone But You, in which she and Powell share a passionate kiss on a rooftop. She said, “See? That’s acting. We’re not really in love. We’re just pretending. Like how I pretended to be in Madame Web.”

Sydney Sweeney Impresses with Her Comedy Skills

Sydney Sweeney impressed the viewers and the critics with her comedy skills, as she participated in several sketches throughout the night. Some of the highlights included:

• Detectives: Sweeney and Chloe Fineman played college interns at a detective office, who used their social media savvy and online stalking abilities to solve three open cases in minutes.
• Please Don’t Destroy: Sweeney joined the comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy (John Higgins, Ben Marshall, and Martin Herlihy) in a sketch where they tried to prank their boss, Lorne Michaels, by putting laxatives in his coffee, but ended up poisoning him instead.
• The Bachelorette: Sweeney played the bachelorette, who had to choose between four contestants: a cowboy (Beck Bennett), a pilot (Alex Moffat), a doctor (Andrew Dismukes), and a serial killer (James Austin Johnson).
• Weekend Update: Sweeney appeared as herself on the news segment, where she talked to Colin Jost and Michael Che about her experience hosting SNL and her upcoming projects. She also revealed that she had a crush on Che, and asked him out on a date.
• The Real Housewives of Transylvania: Sweeney played a vampire housewife, who had a feud with her rival, played by Cecily Strong. They exchanged insults and threats, until they were interrupted by Dracula, played by Bowen Yang, who tried to mediate their conflict.

Sweeney ended the show by thanking the cast, the crew, the audience, and Kacey Musgraves, who performed her second song, Star-Crossed. She also thanked her fans for their support, and said that she had a blast hosting SNL. She said, “This has been a dream come true. Thank you so much for watching. And remember, Madame Web is not that bad. Give it a chance. Good night!”