Kate McKinnon’s Christmas wish came true: she arrived home at Studio 8H.
The Barbie the actress, 39, was the host Saturday night live midseason finale — marking her first return to the sketch comedy series since leaving the series in 2022 — with a joke about her “going back to her old job.”
McKinnon immediately began her monologue listing her reasons for leaving the show, including the fact that her “skin reacted badly to the prosthetics.” However, she also noted that she had a big year, including her role as “Weird Barbie” in the huge hit film, Barbie.
“I entered [the Barbie set] on the first day and they said, ‘You look perfect,’ and I said, ‘This is my outfit,'” she said, referring to her character’s unusual wardrobe choices.
Hailey Bieber posted a throwback pic of ‘weird Barbie’ in a fun nod to Kate McKinnon’s film role
McKinnon joked that she wasn’t really comfortable being who she was in the opening monologue, explaining that she was used to playing characters and making up funny voices. She said that since she left SNL, she was trying to “put together a human personality” in addition to playing the role of “a weirdo next to a hot person” in sketches. To illustrate exactly what she meant, the show cut to some of the actress’ most memorable characters, including dressing as Hunger Games‘ eccentric character Effie Trinkett opposite host Josh Hutcherson and as a Victorian lady opposite Martin Freeman — costumes she called “brilliant.”
Since it was the Christmas season, McKinnon even started singing while pretending to play a mini-piano, noting that series creator Lorne Michaels “requires her to sing.” So she decided to sing her special rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” with the lyrics she told Michaels after he asked her to host.
McKinnon went on to say that the best part of returning to SNL ran into old friends. With that, she also welcomed her fellow citizens SNL students Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig with her on stage. Wiig noted that “it was great to be back [with] so many memories.” The pair even jokingly listed their exploits since leaving the show — with Wiig citing Taylor Swift’s and Rudolph Beyoncé’s as his own.
Kate McKinnon’s Christmas wish to the host SNL It’s coming true — thanks to the iconic Rockefeller tree!
McKinnon appeared in her last episode as a cast member in the season finale in May 2022. She joined the cast during season 37 in 2012. At the time, she was the first openly lesbian cast member to join the series.
The actress currently holds the record for the longest tenure by a female in the cast of the series, according to Entertainment Weekly.
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Later last year, McKinnon expanded on her decision to leave the show. During the performance at Living with Kelly and Ryan, “I thought about it for a very long time and it was very, very difficult,” she said. “All I ever wanted to do in my entire life was to be involved Saturday night live. So, I did. I loved it, I had the best decade, and then I was like, my body was tired and I felt it was time.”
Saturday night live airs Saturdays at 11:30 PM ET on NBC.
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