Bowen Yang Reveals ‘SNL’ Host Made Several Cast Members Cry

After more than five years on *Saturday Night Live* (*SNL*), Bowen Yang has some memorable stories to share.

The Emmy Award nominee recounted some of the worst behavior he has witnessed from a celebrity host on the NBC sketch comedy show—all without naming names—during a recent appearance on *Watch What Happens Live*.

“This man, this person, this host made multiple cast members cry on Wednesday before the table read because he hated the ideas,” Yang recalled while playing ‘Truth or Kink’ with his *Las Culturistas* podcast co-host Matt Rogers. Yang described the situation as “terrible,” prompting Rogers to shake his head and joke that Yang has “got new PR and everything.”

Yang also responded to a fan’s question about which of his *SNL* sketches was the “biggest bomb” and how he handled it.

“When Ayo Edebiri hosted this past season, we wrote a live sketch set in an elevator where she and I were, like, telling everyone that we should all make out or something because the elevator got stuck,” Yang explained. “For some reason, it got turned into a pre-tape under our noses, and we had to adapt to that… It just didn’t go as well as I had hoped.”

The comedian added that handling such situations is part of the job. “And you just deal with it. Comedy’s subjective; you never know how it’s gonna play in front of a specific audience. But it’s fine, you let it roll off your back.”

Yang’s journey on *SNL* began in 2018 when he joined the writing staff. A year later, he was promoted to on-air talent for Season 45. His work on the show recently earned him his fourth Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

The milestone 50th season of *SNL* kicks off on September 28 on NBC, with cast alum Maya Rudolph returning to reprise her impression of Vice President Kamala Harris amid the 2024 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Jason Reitman’s *Saturday Night* premieres on October 11 in theaters. The film recounts the chaotic first-ever *SNL* broadcast in 1975 and stars Gabriel LaBelle as a young Lorne Michaels, alongside a star-studded cast embodying some of the show’s comedic legends.