“Saturday Night Live” is back for the first time in 2024. The January 20 episode marked the start of the new year with host Jacob Elordi and musical guest Reneé Rapp. After announcing the popular guests, NBC almost immediately began selling merchandise for the episode in anticipation of how popular the two are.
During Elordi's opening monologue, he first mentioned “Saltburn,” the recent film that made headlines for its graphic sex scenes. “You may know me from 'Saltburn'. “Not because I saw the movie, just because I saw the TikToks,” he began, cutting to a scene in which his co-star Barry Keoghan has sex with a grave. “I was the one in the grave. If you've seen the film, thank you. If you saw the movie with your parents, I'm sorry. If you saw the film with your girlfriend, you are very welcome.”
He then answered fan questions and was first asked who his favorite Elvis was – young or old. He replied, “'Lilo and Stitch' Elvis.” (The actor who portrayed the icon in “Priscilla” recently admitted that he didn't really know Elvis until the 2002 animated film.)
After a woman called and replied, “No question, I just want to look at you,” the next comment came from actress Sarah Sherman, who said she found his film “absolutely disgusting.”
When he said that “Saltburn” wasn't for anyone, she replied, “What the hell is a 'Saltburn'?” I'm talking about “The Kissing Booth.” Two people kissing on the mouth… ew!” After loud applause, Elordi laughed and admitted, “Yeah, you know what, kissing is kind of weird when you think about it.”
The comment about his Netflix YA franchise, which spanned three films between 2018 and 2021, comes two months after he said in an interview that he “didn't want to do these films before I did these films.”
“These films are ridiculous. They are not universal. They’re an escape,” he told GQ in November. “How presumptuous is it to care about your output? But you don't care and knowingly feed people shit, knowing that you're making money off of people's time, which is literally the most valuable thing they have. How is that so cool?”
In addition to Elordi's hit films “Saltburn” and “Priscilla”, he is also one of the main actors in the HBO series “Euphoria”, in which he plays Nate Jacobs. The series has not yet begun filming its third season, which Elordi spoke about while promoting his hosting gig on “SNL” during an appearance on “The Tonight Show.”
“I hope it's soon, otherwise they'll have to call me Benjamin Button or something,” he told host Jimmy Fallon on Thursday. “I’m going to get a backache walking down the hall, you know?”
The second season was released in January 2022 and HBO has confirmed that the third season is expected to air in 2025.
The Jan. 20 episode also featured Rapp, who recently released her album “Snow Angel” and stars in the hit musical adaptation “Mean Girls,” playing bully Regina George. She also appeared in an early skit, joking that she had “been in every interview” and now had to undergo media training. For her second appearance, she was introduced by original Mean Girls actress Rachel McAdams and joined on stage by Megan Thee Stallion.
Watch the full opening monologue below: