Lorne Michaels seemingly doesn’t deliver good news to new “SNL” cast members all that often, but Seth Meyers is pretty sure he knows why. According to the NBC host and “SNL” alum, Michaels is actually nervous that someone might hug him.
Meyers made his assertion on Thursday night, while chatting with current “SNL” star Ashley Padilla. According to the comedian, she and Meyers share a similar audition story, in that, when they went to meet with Michaels after their auditions, they were certain it was so he could tell them they weren’t hired.
“I went across the street with some other people who tested, and I think we had a drink, and we were all just like — because I think he said the same thing to each of them — and it was just very, just like, ‘What do we do now?’” Padilla recalled.
“And then I got a call from a producer, like, 30 minutes later and said, ‘You’re on the cast,’” she continued. “And I said, ‘Are you sure?’”
That cracked up Meyers, who was equally certain that he hadn’t earned a spot on the show after his audition. According to the “Late Night” host, it’s a fun trick by Michaels.
“It’s the best thing in the world that he just does,” Meyers said. “I mean, he never wants anybody to — I think he’s so worried somebody’s going to hug him, you know what I mean? By the way, he likes — it’s not that he’s anti-hugs. I just don’t think he wants a hug from someone who’s like, over-excited.”
At that, Padilla admitted that she wondered at the time if Michaels was testing her.
“Like, ‘Well, there’s no room on the cast for you,’ If I was, like, ‘Well then I’m gonna beat your ass!’” Padilla joked. “And I didn’t do that, so then I got the
job. Do you see how that worked?”
You can watch Padilla’s full appearance on “Late Night” in the video above.
