Were it not for Bill Hader‘s eye infection, we might never have gotten Nasim Pedrad‘s most famous “Saturday Night Live” impression of Arianna Huffington. The “Mulaney” star dropped by NBC’s “Late Night” where she and former “Weekend Update” host Seth Meyers reminisced about the last-minute creation.
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“That Saturday, Bill Hader got an eye infection, and he was supposed to do James Carville on ‘Update,’” Pedrad said. “And they needed someone to cover those stories; Bill couldn’t do it. So [John] Mulaney just came to me and was like, ‘What if we try Huffington?’”
John Mulaney was a writer on “Saturday Night Live” for several years before moving on to his own show, Fox’s “Mulaney,” where he stars alongside Pedrad and fellow “SNL” alum
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Pedrad’s version of Arianna Huffington would go on to make several appearances on “Weekend Update,” developing a flirt-mance with the host that would have made Hader’s own Stefon jealous, a character Mulaney also co-created.
Pedrad revealed that she and Huffington are still in touch, with their latest communication occurring when the Huffington Post founder gave Pedrad the heads up that she was nominating her for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Nasim Pedrad stars in “Mulaney,” which airs Sundays at 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox.