Hosting Saturday Night Live (SNL) isn’t an easy gig. Actress Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) let at least one Instagram user know that when they criticized her for a gaffe that she made during her opening monologue this past weekend on the comedy sketch show.
The user was commenting on the opening section of DeBose’s monologue where she accidentally said the wrong year. “I’m so honored to be here tonight,” she started. “Wow, 2020 has already been an exciting year.”
The troll commented, “She know it’s 2022 not 2020 right????” DeBose, who was hosting SNL for the first time, responded to the user with, “You try hosting SNL, reading cue cards with slight dyslexia and then get back to me brah.”
The user then turned his next response political by referring to the current President of the United States. “Maybe get someone who isn’t on level with Joe Biden at reading since that’s a qualification to acting…reading lines.”
DeBose responded with a quick, “Cool. You’re a troll. Bye,” and put an end to the short, back-and-forth online confrontation.
Luckily, the troll’s comment was insignificant in comparison to the positive feedback DeBose received for her performance on the show. SNL cast member Chris Reddish commented on the same Instagram post, “You’re incredible and so damn fun to play with!” Another SNL cast member, Kenan Thompson, posted four flame emojis to signify how “on fire” DeBose was that evening.
Recently, DeBose won a Golden Globe for her supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s version of West Side Story. She also received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for the same role. Late last year, she told Remezcla that being a part of West Side Story was an opportunity to show the world who she is.
“As an Afro-Latina, this was really exciting to basically say, ‘Hello, we’re here,’” Ariana DeBose said. “There’s not one way to be Latina. And we’re all beautiful and we’re all gorgeous and have so much to offer. And we have goals, dreams and ambitions. And we are smart, and we are joyful.”