Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson Gives Eyebrow-Raising Response to Pete Davidson’s Salary Confession
Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson reacted to Pete Davidson’s comments about his earnings from the show in a recent interview. Find out what he had to say.
It’s not all about the Benjamins for Kenan Thompson.
The Saturday Night Live star—who joined the sketch show in 2003 and is the longest-tenured performer in its 50-year history—weighed in after Pete Davidson and other former cast members discussed their SNL salaries.
“It’s pretty notorious that it’s more so about having the job than getting paid for the job,” the comedian told Variety in an interview published Dec. 6. “You gotta pay your dues a little bit, yeah.”
In a recent video, several SNL alums including Pete, Jason Sudeikis, Seth Meyers, Cheri Oteri and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, as well as current cast members Bowen Yang and James Austin Johnson, detailed their earnings from the late-night staple and how they spent their first paychecks.
“Do you guys know what they pay us?” Pete, who starred on the long-running series from 2014 to 2022, said in the clip posted on New York magazine’s Instagram account Dec. 4. “It’s like three grand an episode. I think I got dinner.”
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Jason, who worked as a writer on the show before attaining featured player status in 2005, also implied his salary was lower than some might think.
“I mean, you don’t really make enough money to make big purchases,” the Ted Lasso star laughed. “So, I think New York rent was probably the biggest purchase I made after writing on SNL the first year.”
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“I bought a pair of shoes that were out of my budget,” she admitted. “I’m gonna tell you they were $75.”
Speaking of SNL veterans, the series is set to close out the year by welcoming back former cast members Chris Rock and Martin Short, who will host the Dec. 14 and Dec. 21 episodes, respectively. To see other memorable guest hosts from the show’s history, read on.
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Tom Hanks
With 10 hosting gigs under his belt—including the show’s first remotely-filmed episode back in April 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic—you know that when America’s Dad is in Studio 8H, you’re in for a wonderful time. Don’t believe us? We have just three words for you: David. S. Pumpkins.
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Jon Hamm
Hamm left audiences stunned with his considerable comedic chops when he hosted for the first time in 2008. He’s has sinced follow up two more times and has had a handful of surprise cameos.
From his unforgettable “Jon Hamm’s John Ham” sketch—you know, lunch meat you eat on the toilet—to his live-action Ace in an adaptation of the iconic Ambiguously Gay Duo animated sketch, he’s ingratiated himself with cast in a way few other hosts ever have.
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Melissa McCarthy
There is arguably no one on this planet more committed to their craft than the Bridesmaids legend. Case in point? The “Taste Test” sketch in her first at bat as host, back in 2011, when she covered herself in Hidden Valley ranch dressing for a gag.
In less than a decade, she’s already joined the infamous Five-Timers Club, and even began making semi-regular appearances a particularly enraged Sean Spicer during his brief tenure in the Trump administration.
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Justin Timberlake
Nearly every celeb on this list could’ve become a full-time cast member on SNL, easily. And for a time there, it seemed like JT actually might. From “Omletteville,” “D–k in a Box,” and “Barry Gibb Talk Show” to “Mother Lover,” each of Timberlake’s five appearances as host made moments that permeated pop culture. And his appearance as one of Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies” back-up dancers alongside Bobby Moynihan and Andy Samberg? Amazing.
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Steve Martin
There are few people who have hosted SNL more than the legendary comedian—in fact, there’s only one—and in his 16 stints in Studio 8H between 1976 and 2009, he created memorable characters (the “wild and crazy” Festrunk Brothers, King Tut) and delivered what would become one of the show’s most heartfelt moments, honoring Gilda Radner‘s passing from cancer with a look back at a blissful dance the two shared through the studio.
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Scarlett Johansson
Not only is ScarJo part of the SNL family thanks to her romance with Colin Jost, but the six-time host has created some indelible moments over the years since her debut in 2006.
She’s been on hand for whenever the show needed someone to step into Ivanka Trump‘s shoes, appeared in the grotesque Shud the Mermaid sketch opposite Kate McKinnon and played Lexi (daughter to Fred Armisen‘s Mark) as the duo hawk chandeliers, ceramic busts, marble columns and porcelain fountains in the fan-favorite sketch.
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Betty White
Unlike everyone else on this list, the late TV icon only hosted SNL once. And, at 88 years old, she became the show’s oldest host in its history. The appearance was made even more special because it was literally fan-demanded through a successful Facebook campaign after White’s role in The Proposal.
She’s also on this list because, well, she was also freaking hilarious. Our favorite sketch from the episode is this absurd one where Tina Fey‘s census taker tries, in vain, to get a straight answer out of White.
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Dwayne Johnson
A member of the Five Timer’s Club, Johnson earned his spot on this list the minute he agreed to do The Rock Obama. Enough said.
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Alec Baldwin
With 17 official hosting gigs on his resume and countless appearances as former President Donald Trump, Baldwin may be the only star not officially on the payroll who is more closely associated with SNL.
From classics like Canteen Boy and Schweddy Balls to impressions of Tony Bennett and, yes, Trump, Baldwin has given fans so much during his many, many visits to Studio 8H.
