Actor and comedianJohn Mulaneyhas named which celebrities didn’t care for jokes he wrote for them onSaturday Night Live. From 2008 to 2013, Mulaney had served as a staff writer on the sketch comedy series. His work was so acclaimed that Mulaney was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his writing for the show on several occasions, at one point winning for co-writing the song “Justin Timberlake Monologue” with Seth Meyers and Justin Timberlake.
But not every joke Mulaney had written for the show would land withSNL’s celebrity guests. PerTHR, Mulaney recently appeared on a YouTube show calledHot Oneswhere he reflected on his rejected jokes fromSNL. He first remembers when Josh Brolin told him directly that something he’d written just wasn’t funny, but it wasn’t the worst experience, given how “gentlemanly” theDuneactor had been about it.
“Josh Brolin went, ‘Well this isn’t funny,’ as I was writing something and I started to walk him through it,” as Mulaney explains. “It was so matter-of-fact, I wouldn’t even call it the worst.… It was such a gentlemanly exchange of ideas.… He did me quite a service.”
It was a bit different when Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger came onto the show as a host in 2012. At that time, Mulaney pitched a joke for Jagger to use, which went, “Hey everyone, I’m Mick Jagger, so mothers lock up your daughters, and daughters lock up your mothers.”
“He listened [to the joke] and said, ‘Nah, I don’t like that.’ I actually remember I made Seth Meyers read that one,” Mulaney says.
It’s not the first time Mulaney has addressed Jagger criticizing his comedy writing. In his Netflix comedy special,John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous, the comedian includes a bit recalling the story of his failedSNLjoke for Jagger.
“I pitched him a joke, and he went, ‘Not funny!'” Mulaney told his audience. “I mean, people say that on the internet, but never to your face does a British billionaire in leather pants go, ‘Not funny!'”
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John Mulaney Has Since Joined the Five Timers Club
After leavingSNLas a writer, Mulaney would find greater success outside of the show. He still is a part of theSNLfamily, however, having since returned multiple times as special guest host. Last year,Mulaney would host for the fifth time, making him part of the elite “Five-Timers Club.” Chances are we haven’t seen the last of him on the show.
Mulaney also recently appeared in the new season ofThe Bear. He also does voiceover work for the animated Netflix seriesBig Mouth. On the big screen, Mulaney’s voice can be heard in the animated sequelSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseafter Mulaney first debuted as the voice of Spider-Ham in the previous film,Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Mulaney has also done voiceover work forChip ‘n Dale: Rescue RangersandPuss in Boots: The Last Wish.
