Chloe Fineman Reveals Elon Musk Made Her Cry During SNL

Chloe Fineman is shedding light on a tense moment she experienced with Elon Musk during his stint as host on “Saturday Night Live” in 2021. The comedian shared the story in a since-deleted TikTok video on Monday, following Musk’s recent criticism of the sketch comedy show on his X platform.

Recalling the incident, Fineman said, “I was like, ‘I’m not gonna say anything,’ but I’m like, ’No, if you’re gonna go on your platform and be rude, guess what? You made I, Chloe Fineman, burst into tears because I stayed up all night writing this sketch.’”

Fineman admitted she was excited when she first heard Musk, 53, would be guest-hosting the show. However, that excitement turned into dismay when she approached the billionaire before the broadcast to offer help with any questions. “You stared at me like you were firing me from Tesla and were like, ‘It’s not funny,’” Fineman claimed. “I waited for you to be like, ‘Haha, JK.’ No. Then you started pawing through my script, flipping each page being like, ‘I didn’t laugh. I didn’t laugh once, not one time.’”

Although Fineman did not specify which sketch Musk criticized, she noted that it still made it to air and performed “fine.” Despite the rocky interaction, she added, “I actually had a really good time and I thought you were really funny in it, but, you know, have a little manners here, sir.”

Fineman explained that she felt compelled to speak out after Musk’s recent digs at SNL resurfaced old memories. Musk, who took to X to criticize the show’s recent election-themed sketch, wrote, “SNL has been dying slowly for years, as they become increasingly out of touch with reality.” He also jabbed, “Their last-ditch effort to cheat the equal airtime requirements and prop up Kamala before the election only helped sink her campaign further.”

Musk later responded to Fineman’s claims, writing, “Frankly, it was only on the Thursday before the Saturday that ANY of the sketches generated laughs. I was worried. I was like damn my SNL appearance is going to be so f–king unfunny that it will make a crackhead sober!! But then it worked out in the end 😮‍💨.”

Bowen Yang, another SNL cast member, previously hinted at Musk’s on-set attitude, claiming on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” that the tech mogul made “multiple cast members cry” and was critical of their sketches. Despite the drama, Musk told Page Six at the time that the rumors of behind-the-scenes clashes were “much ado about nothing” and insisted everyone got along.