SNL Fans In Disbelief At Internet Star’s Appearance With Paul Mescal: ‘What Universe Are We In?’

Saturday evening 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 night’s (December 7) episode, performing an opening monologue and appearing in a number of sketches alongside recurring films. SNL cast members.

One skit saw them joking about Spotify’s recently released Wrap for 2024, which shows users their most streamed 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 streamer, who is Satoshi Gutman – an “anti-instrumentalist sound guru from 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?” » asks Gutman. Together, they say, “the best thing is singleness.”

Sherman exclaims “this is so insane” but Mescal insists that Spotify Wrapped “is not in the business of judging people.”

It’s about sharing the soundtrack of your life. Call me crazy, but I think it’s something to celebrate,” Mescal says.

Gutman and Paytas then show up for an in-person visit. The internet star then appeared on stage with the rest of the cast as Mescal bid farewell to the audience at the end of the evening’s episode.

On X, viewers reacted with disbelief at seeing Paytas as part of mainstream entertainment.

“Paul Mescal says ‘thanks to Trisha Paytas’, guys, what universe are we in,” one person asked.

Another added: “Pop culture is so fun lately. lookalike competitions, Hitman CEO memes, what’s next???? trisha paytas on snl ????

“Trisha Paytas makes her Snl debut??? what is it, of course,” wrote a third.

“Trisha Paytas is the queen of being the worst person ever and constantly getting rewarded for it,” another added.

Paytas is known for her dramatic vlogs on YouTube, where she has accumulated over five million subscribers and one billion views. In the past, she has been accused of creating clickbait content on topics ranging from her plastic surgery to her sexuality in order to become famous.

Elsewhere at Mescal SNL debut, the Irish actor gave a musical touch to the Gladiator sequel, which he directs as Lucious Verus Aurelius, the illegitimate offspring of Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius.

The actor sang the parody song “There’s No Place Like Rome”, as he flew from the Colosseum on a broomstick and wearing a witch’s hat – a nod to the Cynthia Erivo’s rendition of “Defying Gravity” as Elphaba in Wicked.