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S35.E21: Betty White / Jay-Z

formerlyfreedom

By formerlyfreedom
in Saturday Night Live

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formerlyfreedom

formerlyfreedom

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The penultimate episode of season 35, and the Mother's Day Special, hosted by Betty White, with Jay-Z as the musical guest.

  • In early 2010, an online campaign was created on Facebook to get White to host an episode of the show. The group was called Betty White to Host SNL (please?)! The movement was sparked by White's appearance in a Snickers commercial aired during Super Bowl XLIV. Because of this, White is the first person to ever host based on an internet movement created by fans. The commercial itself aired during one of the commercial breaks.
  • With this episode, White, at age 88, is the oldest person ever to host the show, surpassing Miskel Spillman, the winner of SNL's "Anyone Can Host" contest in 1977.
  • For the first set, Jay-Z performs a medley of "Public Service Announcement", "On to the Next One", "99 Problems", "03 Bonnie and Clyde", and "Empire State of Mind," featuring back-up singer Bridget Kelly. During "99 Problems", Jay-Z's band samples "Points of Authority" by Linkin Park. For the second set, Jay-Z performs "Young Forever" with Mr Hudson, which he dedicated to White.
  • Former SNL cast members Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon appear throughout the show. Gasteyer and Shannon reprised their characters from The Delicious Dish sketches. Shannon also reprised her character Sally O'Malley during Weekend Update. Rudolph reprised her impression of Whitney Houston during Weekend Update. Fey and Poehler returned to Update as well, to participate in Really!?!.
  • This episode was nominated for seven 2010 Emmy Awards.
  • White won an Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy for hosting.
  • TV Ratings: 14.952 million viewers

With NBC airing this episode tonight at 11:30 ET/10:30 CT, it seemed appropriate to have it's own topic.

Originally aired on May 8, 2010; re-airing on January 1, 2022.

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vb68

vb68

(edited)

"My muffin hasn't had a cherry since 1939."

The lines in that sketch were perfect, and you could tell Betty was loving it.

I'm still cracking up all these years later.

Nobody could deliver a zinger like Betty White.

Edited by vb68
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Ms Blue Jay

Ms Blue Jay

(edited)

Delicious Dish is sooooooooooo not my humour, but I'm really enjoying everything else.

Jay-Z is performing a song from 2003!  I wonder why.  Great song though.

Oh never mind, he is doing a medley!  That was like a full on concert medley!  Pretty great.

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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Annber03

Annber03

(edited)
20 minutes ago, saoirse said:

I honestly thought this episode was within the last five to six years — I had such clear memories of the Lawrence Welk and NPR sketches. I was shocked to realize it was almost 12 years ago!

It's throwing me to realize that the song "Empire State of MInd" is over ten years old now. Holy crap. 

I never saw the full thing of this episode when it originally aired, so it's great to get the chance to see it now. Really enjoying it so far - Betty's just going all in and it's great. I also love her introducing Jay-Z, hee. 

Edited by Annber03
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vb68

vb68

(edited)

Oh wow, Maya as Whitney.  I had forgotten about that.  I think enough time has passed now that it's not too awkward. 

For some reason, it always cracked me up how she always called him "Sethly"

I will also admit on the record that I did some Sally O'Malley kicks when I turned 50. 😁

Edited by vb68
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Annber03

Annber03

2 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Maya Rudolph as Whitney Houston made me wince. 

Yeah, that was something. Even more eerie seeing this now, considering this year will mark ten years since she died. What even is time anymore, seriously? 

So fun to see Seth Meyers at the "Weekend Update" desk. I liked him as the WU anchor. 

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

13 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Oh my god, I will never get Molly Shannon.  Never would I have guessed she was still on the show in 2010.

I didn't get Molly Shannon until her roles on The Other Two. But this is a Mother's Day ep.  Amy, Molly, Maya, Rachel and Ana were all on for the holiday--but really because of Betty,

I forgot how much I loved Really? on weekend update.

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vb68

vb68

(edited)

Betty saying "Wizard of ASS" saved that sketch for me. I would always get annoyed by all the breaking. I think that was the only point of those Scared Straight sketches ever.

But my heart just melted all over again watching all of them sing the Golden Girls theme to her. There must be something in my eye. 

Edited by vb68
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vb68

vb68

3 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

The cast singing "Thank You for Being a Friend" to her got me a bit teary, though. Aw. 

Will Forte really sang his part with an extra effort. That was really sweet that he seemed so into it.

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Annber03

Annber03

1 minute ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Jay-Z looks 10 feet tall next to Betty omg this is so cute 😭

I loved him bowing to her and then encouraging everyone to stand up.

And the flowers. So sweet :'). 

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Jody

Jody

11 hours ago, saoirse said:

I honestly thought this episode was within the last five to six years — I had such clear memories of the Lawrence Welk and NPR sketches. I was shocked to realize it was almost 12 years ago!

         Beck And Cecily And Aidy And Kate and Kyle Have ALL Been On For THIRTEEN YEARS ! ! Even Melissa And Bowen Have Been On A Few Years ! ! I Think They Had Some Other People After Vanessa And Bobby Had Left Before The Cast That Is On Now ! ! 

10 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Delicious Dish is sooooooooooo not my humour, but I'm really enjoying everything else.

Jay-Z is performing a song from 2003!  I wonder why.  Great song though.

Oh never mind, he is doing a medley!  That was like a full on concert medley!  Pretty great.

       This Was NOT As Bad As Taylor Swift Because OF That  Back Up Singer Woman, But, That First Song Was Extremely Long ! 

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Pete Martell

Pete Martell

(edited)
13 minutes ago, Jody said:

 

         Beck And Cecily And Aidy And Kate and Kyle Have ALL Been On For THIRTEEN YEARS ! ! Even Melissa And Bowen Have Been On A Few Years ! ! I Think They Had Some Other People After Vanessa And Bobby Had Left Before The Cast That Is On Now ! ! 

Kyle is in his ninth season, Cecily and  Aidy their tenth (Kate joined a few months before Cecily and Aidy). It does feel like even longer though. 

1 hour ago, vb68 said:

Betty saying "Wizard of ASS" saved that sketch for me. I would always get annoyed by all the breaking. I think that was the only point of those Scared Straight sketches ever.

But my heart just melted all over again watching all of them sing the Golden Girls theme to her. There must be something in my eye. 

I think initially they were just a way to use rape jokes for a laugh, then when  the cast (particularly Bill) started breaking, they kept it up. Jason was usually my favorite part.

Watching this, aside from being so impressed with Betty's stamina (was she in every part of the episode?), I'm reminded of how little I miss the need for recurring characters.  I think the most fun installment in this  one was the Manuel Ortiz Show, just to see Betty and everyone else dancing around. 

Here's a tweet thread from a writer at the time about her experience with Betty:

 

Edited by Pete Martell
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Jody

Jody

 

         I Think That Molly And Ana Were There For Cameos And Since They Were There, Then, They Put Them In All These Sketches Including Molly On Week End Update ! They We

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I didn't get Molly Shannon until her roles on The Other Two. But this is a Mother's Day ep.  Amy, Molly, Maya, Rachel and Ana were all on for the holiday--but really because of Betty,

I forgot how much I loved Really? on weekend update.

They Were On In The 90's And Vanessa And Bobby Were In 2010 ! ! Rachel and Amy And Tina And Maya Were In 2000 ! Will Forte And Fred Along With Kenan Came Around 2002 And Kristen Wiig Came In 2006 And Jason and Bill Hader Maybe Came Around 2008 ! ! I Don't Know IF IT Was The Network, But They Thought Betty Would NOT Have The Stamina To Do The Sketches So They Had The Other Cast Members To Come On And Be In The Sketches ! 

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Mediocre Gatsby

Mediocre Gatsby

1 hour ago, Pete Martell said:

 

 

Thanks for posting that. 

I love that so many of the female cast came back for Betty and Mother's Day. It was fun to see them hugging each other at the end. 

Seth's hair was so dark. Is he lightening it these days? I liked him on WU but he was kind of shouty. I loved him, Amy and Tina doing the very first "Really." 

Loved the digital short. I wondered if Betty was already the last Golden Girl alive, but Rue McClanahan died a few weeks after this show. 

As mentioned above, it was great that Jay-Z dedicated Forever Young to Betty. 

They just reran the Mom Jeans sketch, right? Because suddenly Amy wasn't pregnant. I wonder why they did that? Though that was a lot of costume changes for Betty, so maybe they needed some time between sketches. 

I appreciate that SNL reran this. I must have missed the first part of the show the first time, because a few things were new to me. Boy Betty was game for everything. I'm so happy that she knew every day how much she was adored. We need to make sure we do that for everyone in our lives. 

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Pete Martell

Pete Martell

28 minutes ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

Thanks for posting that. 

I love that so many of the female cast came back for Betty and Mother's Day. It was fun to see them hugging each other at the end. 

Seth's hair was so dark. Is he lightening it these days? I liked him on WU but he was kind of shouty. I loved him, Amy and Tina doing the very first "Really." 

Loved the digital short. I wondered if Betty was already the last Golden Girl alive, but Rue McClanahan died a few weeks after this show. 

As mentioned above, it was great that Jay-Z dedicated Forever Young to Betty. 

They just reran the Mom Jeans sketch, right? Because suddenly Amy wasn't pregnant. I wonder why they did that? Though that was a lot of costume changes for Betty, so maybe they needed some time between sketches. 

I appreciate that SNL reran this. I must have missed the first part of the show the first time, because a few things were new to me. Boy Betty was game for everything. I'm so happy that she knew every day how much she was adored. We need to make sure we do that for everyone in our lives. 

I wonder if Seth has started to just go with a more natural look in the last few years. I would agree about the shoutiness. I much prefer him on his show.

Apparently Mom Jeans (which was a rerun, yes) and the Brownie husband pre-tape with Tiny were added just for this repeat. 

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peeayebee

peeayebee

I just watched this on Hulu. I'm sorry that not every sketch mentioned here was on it, but the ep was still great.

Kenan was so good in the Scared Straight sketch. "Here's the ocean. I crossed it. Now all the natives got small pox."

Everyone was good. And now I feel like watching reruns of the MTM Show and Golden Girls.

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truthaboutluv

truthaboutluv

11 hours ago, Jody said:

This Was NOT As Bad As Taylor Swift Because OF That  Back Up Singer Woman, But, That First Song Was Extremely Long ! 

It was a medley of his past hits, not one song. Which is what I assumed Taylor would do with her promotion of the re-release of Red and instead we got a 30 minute damn version of one freaking song (okay it was only 10 but if felt like 30 minutes).

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Annber03

Annber03

8 hours ago, stonehaven said:

I missed the re-airing but I watched the abbreviated version online and I have to say the chemistry between Betty and Keenan was really a joy to watch. There was something special about those two together.

I got a good laugh out of, "Do you kiss your grandma with that mouth?" "He sure does!" 

It's so fun, when I do watch this show, to see Kenan on here. Having grown up watching him on "Kenan and Kel" and "All That" back in the day, it's been cool to see him continuing in that comedy vein as he has. 

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Galileo908

Galileo908

(edited)

If I remember right, Kenan was only in his SEVENTH season when this aired. I, too, can't believe he's become Mr. SNL after watching him on All That and Kenan & Kel back in the 90s.

I should've known there was a thread for this. I saw it back when it aired in 2010 (I can't believe it's over 11 years already...) and it's still a great episode from start to finish.

I don't really miss the Dooneese sketches, even if the character herself was delightfully weird. I wasn't fond of the Kristen Wiig era where she had to be the center of attention at all times. At least with all the former cast members back, her presence was pretty balanced here,

God bless Betty for committing to a Sally O'Malley kick. I also forgot about the dancing talk show. I remember when it aired my first thought was "oh my god, they're gonna make her dance," but damn it, she was a total trooper for it.

Edited by Galileo908
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Galileo908

Galileo908

4 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I was wondering why this wasn't the 10pm re-run and am so, so glad they ran it in its entirety.

Seth Tweeted this sweet tribute.

 

Colin Jost posted from his instagram that Betty drank a vodka & soda before the show went live!

14 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

They just reran the Mom Jeans sketch, right? Because suddenly Amy wasn't pregnant. I wonder why they did that? Though that was a lot of costume changes for Betty, so maybe they needed some time between sketches. 

I appreciate that SNL reran this. I must have missed the first part of the show the first time, because a few things were new to me. Boy Betty was game for everything. I'm so happy that she knew every day how much she was adored. We need to make sure we do that for everyone in our lives. 

She was in EVERY sketch that night, aside from the two commercial repeats. That RARELY happens.

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Kimmmmmm

Kimmmmmm

20 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Oh, my god, that digital short...XD. 

The cast singing "Thank You for Being a Friend" to her got me a bit teary, though. Aw. 

Me, too...and I hated Golden Girls

7 hours ago, Dr.OO7 said:

I love how TPTB went all out to bring back so many former female cast members.

Yes, but could have done without Molly Shannon

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Galileo908

Galileo908

(edited)
15 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

Seth's hair was so dark. Is he lightening it these days? I liked him on WU but he was kind of shouty. I loved him, Amy and Tina doing the very first "Really." 

Seth really needed a partner for Update to balance him out. He really couldn't carry it on his own like Norm or Kevin Nealon. And then he stayed on for a few seasons too long (seriouisly, he was on the show right up until he took over Late Night in 2014). It made me appreciate the chemistry between Jost and Che.

6 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I can't even remember the last time I saw a host in the cold open. 

or a cold open that wasn't lukewarm political satire.

Edited by Galileo908
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Jody

Jody

12 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I can't even remember the last time I saw a host in the cold open. 

       Jason Was In The Cold Open When He Hosted I Think In October ! Remember, Jason Was Joe Biden ! Actually, I Think That New Guy Was Joe Biden And AT Some Point, They Had Alex Moffat Be Joe Biden, But, Then Jason Came On As Joe Biden !

12 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Seth really needed a partner for Update to balance him out. He really couldn't carry it on his own like Norm or Kevin Nealon. And then he stayed on for a few seasons too long (seriouisly, he was on the show right up until he took over Late Night in 2014). It made me appreciate the chemistry between Jost and Che.

or a cold open that wasn't lukewarm political satire.

         There Was Also Dennis Miller ! They Had That Cold Open Where They Talked About Foot Ball When That Raider Coach Was Fired ! 

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