Alex, Marcello, and the SNL cast

Alexander Skarsgård is hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend for the first time and it’s the 1000^th episode. The show commemorates seasons but not usually episode counts so it’s a standard Saturday but maybe they’ll give it a little something extra. Alex has been on an unhinged press tour lately, and it’s hilarious. He is weird and titillating and subversive and definitely game for anything.

Last night was the traditional Tuesday SNL host and cast dinner. Ashley Padilla was there, she’s been having a great season so far and Veronika Slowikowska, who is Canadian, has also been killing it in her first year, one of the strongest starts in recent memory. She and Jane Wickline seem to have a vibe. “Cousin Planet” is definitely, for me, in the top five sketches of the season so far.

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Marcello Hernández was also there, just as he was going a bit viral from his appearance Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, ugh. The ugh is for Dax, not Marcello. We love Marcello, he did nothing wrong, he was just asked a stupid question – or, rather, he was asked in a stupid way.

@coffeefrijolito What a weird question #daxshephard #marcellohernandez #armchairexpert #sabrinacarpenter #fyp ♬ original sound - fortheculture

I get where this is coming from: Sabrina Carpenter’s quickly become an SNL darling, and she’s had great chemistry with Marcello, plus she “arrested” him for being too hot at her concert. So there are people online who’ve been shipping these two and, generously, I think this is what Dax was getting at.

But there’s a way to ask the question without making it so f-cking weird. Which is to not put yourself in it. The problem for me is that Dax framed it as “if this were me I would be all over Sabrina” and it didn’t need to be about f-cking him, but it’s always f-cking about him. Even though, obviously, his guest is Marcello. All you need to do is ask Marcello about everyone clocking his vibe with Sabrina and whether or not it’s a possibility. This way you can satisfy the gossips, maybe get some fresh gossip, and nobody has to picture you at 28 years old getting with Sabrina Carpenter, leave her alone.

To his credit, Marcello answered the question like he’s in a rom-com, not only confirming and validating his relationship but also fangirling his partner. Excellent response, no notes. 

As for why he’s doing press, besides SNL, his Netflix special premiered earlier this month, I liked it a lot. It works on energy alone – Marcello operates at a 15 the whole time, you can’t help but be lifted up with his mood. Not every joke worked but I do love his observations about Latin and immigrant upbringing in general, and all that drama last week about the Brooklyn Peltz-Beckham’s wedding and the first-third dance reminded me of Marcello’s set. Because it was Marc Anthony who was at the center of the allegedly scandalous mother-son moment and as Marcello notes in his standup, a Latino dance party is a totally different kind of dance party. There may have been some cultural differences happening at that reception.

Speaking of those differences, here’s a joke that KILLED.

@marcellohdz #fyp #foryou #latina #comedy ♬ original sound - Marcello Hernandez